Donald Trump Leads Among Evangelicals As He Campaigns For Their Support

Donald Trump’s pursuit of evangelical voters continues, even as he is earning the majority of support from Republican voters in that category.

A New York Times/CBS News poll last week showed Trump leading with 42 percent of evangelical voters. Texas Senator Ted Cruz was second with 25 percent.

Trump visited Liberty University’s Convocation on Monday, declaring he would defend Christianity, which was under attack around the world.

“You look at the different places, and Christianity, it’s under siege,” he said. “We’re going to protect Christianity. If you look what’s going on throughout the world — you look at Syria, where if you’re Christian, they’re chopping off heads.”

Trump, a Presbyterian, described the Bible as the best book, second to his own book “The Art Of The Deal.”

“The Bible blows them away. There’s nothing like it, the Bible,” he said, quoting 2 Corinthians during his speech.

Trump indicated that he would be a great president for people of faith, even better than Texas Senator Ted Cruz, whose father is a Pastor.

“I think I’ll be a much better person for Evangelicals but also for everybody else,” Trump said in an interview with Christian Broadcasting Network’s David Brody.

Trump compared his faith with that of former President Ronald Reagan.

“Well, number one, and there are lots of ways of looking at it, but beyond all else, Ronald Reagan wasn’t a totally, he didn’t read the bible every day, seven days a week. But, he was a great president. And he was a great president for Christianity,” he said.

Trump also called for Christian unity in the interview with Brody.

“We have to band together, we have to become stronger as Christians because it’s very bad what’s happening with respect to Christianity … We have to stick together whether it’s very, very serious things like what’s happening over in the Middle East or things such as ‘Merry Christmas.’” he said. “You don’t see it anymore in department stores. We have to get together and make sure it’s what we want.”