White evangelicals supported Trump because of their beliefs, not despite them.

Evidence

By the time Trump arrived proclaiming himself their savior, conservative white evangelicals had already traded a faith that privileges humility and elevates “the least of these” for one that derides gentleness as the province of wusses. Rather than turning the other cheek, they’d resolved to defend their faith and their nation, secure in the knowledge that the ends justify the means. Having replaced the Jesus of the Gospels with a vengeful warrior Christ, it’s no wonder many came to think of Trump in the same way. In 2016, many observers were stunned at evangelicals’ apparent betrayal of their own values. In reality, evangelicals did not cast their vote despite their beliefs, but because of them. — Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Jesus and John Wayne, 8

Categorization

• DEEPTHINKING: This is the load-bearing thesis of the entire book, argued via a long cultural history of militant masculinity.
• XREF: Connects to the general phenomenon of identity groups voting against their stated values for cultural-solidarity reasons, as in Arlie Hochschild’s ‘Strangers in Their Own Land’. — connects to: Christian nationalism, not evangelical identity itself, predicts Trump voting. — Andrew L. Whitehead; Samuel L. Perry, Taking America Back for God, 232; Trump won white Christians by appealing to racism, not despite it. — Robert P. Jones, White Too Long: The Legacy of White…, 53; High church attendance weakens Trump support among Christian Nationalists (+6 more)