Conservative Christian “pro-family” groups affiliated with Focus on the Family hailed Donald Trump’s election victory and say they’re counting on his support to advance their agenda over the next four years.
“I think evangelicals clearly identify more closely with the vision that Donald Trump has cast,” said Family Research Council President Tony Perkins. Perkins told CBN a second Trump administration will be “much better for evangelicals and the ability to live out their faith in influence this country and the world.”
“Our work has just begun,” Perkins said.
Tony Perkins
“Election 2024 must not be the finish line for Christians in America,” Perkins wrote on X. “I pray it is a starting point. It’s time for the church to arise. Our hurting nation needs a revival that only God can provide.”
We shouldn’t think Trump’s election means game over in the political arena, said FRC’s Owen Strachan. “No, it means game on.”
Focus President Jim Daly said he was “encouraged” by Trump’s triumph, “but not because of any partisan cheerleading.”
“The outcome confirms American families are hungry to live in a nation where they can raise their children in an environment that is physically safe, economically viable, and where moms and dads and kids can unapologetically worship God,” Daly assessed. “They believe parents — not politicians — have the authority to guide and direct their children’s education. They believe their daughters shouldn’t have to fear boys in their locker room — or face off against them in a woman’s sporting event. They’re fed up with politicians making common sense complex in an effort to confuse and advance an anti-family agenda.”
Jim Daly
The James Dobson Family Institute agreed: “Over the next four years, the freedom of speech and religion will be strengthened rather than undermined. Parental rights will be defended, and the U.S./Israel alliance will be strengthened. … Let’s pray that conservative policies will proliferate.”
One Focus article compared Trump’s use of “social media and alternative news sources,” such as Joe Rogan’s podcast, to James Dobson’s successful use of alternative media in building Focus on the Family. “Those with a powerful Christ-filled message will find a way to get the word out to those with willing ears to hear,” the article said.
“Pro-family” groups attributed Trump’s win to successful Christian get-out-the-vote efforts and the more than $200 million spent on an ad campaign targeting transgender issues with the slogan: “Kamala is for they/them; President Trump is for you.” One progressive group said the campaign spent “$134 per trans person” in the U.S.
“A lot of pollsters are saying that issue alone was definitive,” said Craig DeRoche, president of Family Policy Alliance, Focus’ public policy partner in 41 states.
Craig DeRoche
“The Republicans have finally gotten over their squeamishness. For whatever reason, in 2022, they couldn’t talk about the Left saying that boys should go into girls’ locker rooms,” DeRoche said in an interview with FRC’s Perkins.
“What’s really made the difference is in this election versus 2020, a lot of Christian organizations like the Family Policy Alliance, Family Research Council and others made a concerted effort to get the estimated 32 million Christians that sat out the 2020 election,” DeRoche explained.
“Exit polls showed Trump’s most vibrant support came from evangelical Christians,” said an article in FRC’s Washington Stand. FRC says 81% of evangelicals voted for Trump, an increase over 2016 and 2020.
Anti-abortion groups also cited voter mobilization as a key factor in Trump’s win. Volunteers with Students for Life Action worked on 156 primary races and reached out to voters in 12 states in the general election.
“We can document almost 24,000 confirmed minds changed through outreach,” SFLA Action President Kristan Hawkins told an FRC program.
Trump shied away from the abortion issue in his campaign and deleted pro-life principles from the GOP platform for the first time in decades, but SFLA Action remains confident he will make the issue a priority. “President Trump says he wants to end federal involvement with abortion, and we can do that,” Hawkins said.
“Americans … re-elected the most pro-life president in the history of America,” said FRC’s Mary Szoch. “The opportunity to build a culture of life in America is great, and we cannot waste it.”
Alliance Defending Freedom, the powerhouse conservative legal group founded by James Dobson and other religious right leaders, said, “We expect that this new administration will introduce fresh opportunities to reverse many harmful Biden-era policies,” including “broad attacks on some of our most fundamental freedoms.”
In its post-election statement, ADF said it anticipates “three key ways in which a second Trump administration can advance freedom for every American:”
- “Rejecting government censorship: It is imperative that the United States protect the sacred right to freedom of speech.”
- “Uprooting dangerous gender ideology: Denying the reality that we are created male and female has caused immeasurable harm.”
- “Dismantling the administrative state: The rule of law must be fortified and the integrity of our judiciary protected.”
Kristen Waggoner
ADF President Kristen Waggoner is said to be among Trump’s potential picks for a new Supreme Court justice, even though she has no judicial experience and there are no court openings.
Before the election, Family Research Council’s Tony Perkins was among evangelicals amplifying Trump’s claims that the 2024 election was being rigged. Perkins claimed that as many as 2.7 million undocumented immigrants were planning on voting illegally.
“Leftists want to unconstitutionally give noncitizens the right to vote in our elections to weaken the power of your vote and shore up their power in local, state, and federal offices,” Perkins said.
The Heritage Foundation agreed, claiming “the evidence is clear” that noncitizens were voting.
But after Trump’s win, such claims dried up, with some groups claiming their own “election integrity” efforts prevented fraudsters from rigging the election for a Democrat this time.
Related articles:
‘Pro-family’ legislative groups add state-based legal centers to their culture war arsenals
Biden order aims to ‘keep families together’ but ‘pro-family’ groups aren’t applauding
Pro-family groups support Congressional “’Nay Sayers” caucus