Baptist News Global
Sections
  • News
  • Analysis
  • Opinion
  • Curated
  • Storytelling
    • Faith & Justice >
      • Charleston: Metanoia with Bill Stanfield
      • Charlotte: QC Family Tree with Greg and Helms Jarrell
      • Little Rock: Judge Wendell Griffen
      • North Carolina: Conetoe
    • Welcoming the Stranger >
      • Lost Boys of Sudan: St. John’s Baptist Charlotte
      • Awakening to Immigrant Justice: Myers Park Baptist Church
      • Hospitality on the corner: Gaston Christian Center
    • Signature Ministries >
      • Jake Hall: Gospel Gothic, Music and Radio
    • Singing Our Faith >
      • Hymns for a Lifetime: Ken Wilson and Knollwood Baptist Church
      • Norfolk Street Choir
    • Resilient Rural America >
      • Alabama: Perry County
      • Texas: Hidalgo County
      • Arkansas Delta
      • Southeast Kentucky
  • More
    • Contact
    • About
    • Donate
    • Planned Giving
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Advertising
    • Ministry Jobs and More
    • Transitions
    • Subscribe
    • Submissions and Permissions
Donate Subscribe
Search Search this site

Trump returning to Liberty University as commencement speaker

NewsBob Allen  |  March 22, 2017

President Donald Trump will deliver the spring commencement address at Liberty University, returning to the scene of an appearance in January 2016 that helped put him on a path to winning widespread evangelical support in last year’s election.

The school in Lynchburg, Va., billed as the world’s largest Christian college, confirmed a report by CBN News that Trump will return to Liberty May 13.

“It is a tremendous honor and privilege for any university to host a sitting U.S. president, and we are incredibly grateful to have President Trump be a part of this historic day,” Liberty President Jerry Falwell Jr. said in a press release March 22.

Falwell, who took over the school founded by his father, Moral Majority founder Jerry Falwell, after the elder Falwell’s death in 2007, was one of the first evangelical leaders to endorse Trump, a thrice married casino magnate, builder and reality show host making his political debut.

Introducing Trump at Liberty University Jan. 18, 2016, Falwell shared stories of the candidate’s generosity and compared him to his late father, whose polarizing public image contrasted with personal qualities that charmed even his political foes.

“Matthew 7:16 tells us that ‘By their fruits, you shall know them,’” Falwell said. “Donald Trump’s life has borne fruit. Fruit that has provided jobs to multitudes of people, in addition to the many he has helped with his generosity.”

“Absolutely unbelievable,” Russell Moore, president of the Southern Baptist Convention Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, reacted to that comment in a series of tweets during the introduction and speech, which aired on C-SPAN.

“In my opinion, Donald Trump lives a life of loving and helping others as Jesus taught in the Great Commandment,” Falwell said during Trump’s introduction.

“My father was criticized in the early 1980s for supporting Ronald Reagan over Jimmy Carter for president, because Ronald Reagan was a Hollywood actor who’d been divorced and remarried,” Falwell continued. “Jimmy Carter was a Southern Baptist Sunday school teacher.”

Donald Trump visited Liberty University Jan. 18, 2016, to speak at convocation. (Photo/Liberty University)

“My father proudly replied that Jesus pointed out that we are all sinners, every one of us, and when Jesus said render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, that meant we are to be good citizens, voting, active in the political process, serving in the armed forces if necessary,” Falwell explained. “And while Jesus never told us who to vote for, he gave us all common sense to choose the best leaders and the ability to choose the best leaders.”

Media outlets including The Atlantic and CNN noted running commentary on Moore’s Twitter feed.

“This would be hilarious if it weren’t so counter to the mission of the gospel of Jesus Christ,” said one tweet. “Evangelicals can love a golden calf, as long as Aaron promises to make Mexico pay for it,” said another, apparently a reference to Trump’s plan to build a wall along the southern U.S. border to stem illegal immigration.

“Trading in the gospel of Jesus Christ for political power is not liberty but slavery,” Moore continued. “Politics driving the gospel rather than the other way around is the third temptation of Christ. He overcame it. Will we?”

“Winning at politics while losing the gospel is not a win,” he added.

Similar comments throughout the campaign on social media and in interviews came back to haunt Moore after more than 80 percent of white evangelicals voted for Trump in November. Several high-profile pastors who supported Trump, including former SBC President Jack Graham, took offense. A number of churches threatened to withhold denominational funding.

In December Moore apologized to Southern Baptists who read his comments as criticizing anyone who voted for Trump, and more recently issued a longer statement voicing regret for “contextless or unhelpful” social media posts he said were targeted at prosperity gospel preachers who turned their heads at Trump’s moral failures and not Southern Baptists who viewed him as a lesser of evils against Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.

Officers of Moore’s governing board affirmed his leadership, and Graham, pastor of Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, Texas, commended his “gracious and unifying statement.”

Others say Moore shouldn’t have to apologize. His criticisms of Trump resonated particularly among African-American Southern Baptists. “Russell Moore has done nothing worthy of discipline or firing,” Byron Day, president of National African American Fellowship of the SBC,” said in an open letter.

Day, pastor of Emmanuel Baptist Church in Laurel, Md., said in addition to contending for high-profile issues like abortion and marriage, Moore “has also addressed social injustices such as racism which have been long overlooked.”

Dwight McKissic, pastor of Cornerstone Baptist Church in Arlington, Texas, said if Moore were to be marginalized or fired it would send a message to him and other African-American Southern Baptists to “pack your bags and leave.”

Nearly nine in 10 African Americans voted for Clinton, and about 7 percent of Southern Baptist churches are predominantly black.

Trump will be the second sitting president to speak at Liberty University. President George H. W. Bush was commencement speaker in 1990.

Trump’s previous visit, most remembered for his famous flub quoting from the New Testament book of “Two Corinthians,” wasn’t his first time on campus. Then famous as host of the TV game show The Apprentice, Trump waived his normal speaking fee when he traveled to Lynchburg in 2012.

“I really wanted to be here because I’ve heard so much about Liberty University,” Trump said. “Especially being Presbyterian, being a Christian, a very proud Christian … and a real Christian, I’ve heard so much about Liberty, and the job that’s been done, that this was really, really my honor.”

Falwell said in November that he turned down an offer to be Trump’s education secretary before the job was offered to school voucher advocate Betsy DeVos. Trump later appointed Falwell head of a White House task force to reform higher education in the United States.

Previous story:

ERLC officers affirm Russell Moore

Tags:Donald TrumpJerry Falwell Jr.Russell Moore
More by
Bob Allen
  • Get BNG headlines in your inbox

  • BNG dinner will bring together Anthea Butler and Beth Allison Barr for a conversation on race and gender

    Two of the most prominent voices speaking to the American church about race and gender will appear together at the Baptist News Global dinner during the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s General Assembly in Dallas this June. Get your tickets now!

  • Featured

    • What’s next for recommendations and reforms in SBC sexual abuse study?

      News

    • As report of SBC Sexual Abuse Task Force nears, Southern Baptists are just beginning to count the cost of this work

      Analysis

    • First review of SBC sexual abuse report begins today

      News

    • 29-page memorandum illustrates what the SBC Sexual Abuse Task force is hearing

      News


    Curated

    • Indiana pastor admits ‘adultery’; woman says she was a teen

      Indiana pastor admits ‘adultery’; woman says she was a teen

      May 24, 2022
    • Church of Scotland Approves Same-Sex Marriage

      Church of Scotland Approves Same-Sex Marriage

      May 24, 2022
    • Banned from Communion in San Francisco, Pelosi receives Eucharist in Washington

      Banned from Communion in San Francisco, Pelosi receives Eucharist in Washington

      May 24, 2022
    • Senior Israeli lawmaker warns of “religious war” over Jerusalem moves

      Senior Israeli lawmaker warns of “religious war” over Jerusalem moves

      May 24, 2022
    Read Next:

    Louisville police training quoted Bible verse to say officers are God’s agents of wrath

    NewsMark Wingfield

    More Articles

    • All
    • News
    • Opinion
    • Curated
    • Don’t overlook the depth of the disease in the SBC

      OpinionPaula Garrett

    • On three-month anniversary of Russian invasion, Ukrainian Baptists and neighbors keep helping everyone they can

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Tear down the SBC Executive Committee and replace it

      OpinionLayne Wallace

    • While SBC weeps over sexual abuse allegations, the TheoBros take on Beth Allison Barr one more time

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • It’s time to stop giving Christianity a pass on white supremacy and violence

      OpinionRobert P. Jones

    • SBC’s former law firm sharply disagrees with Sexual Abuse Task Force report

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • SBC report shows how five words turn abuse victim from ‘survivor’ to ‘whore’

      OpinionMarv Knox

    • Hearing from victims’ families changed the death penalty debate in Connecticut

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Former foster youth need to know they are not abandoned

      OpinionAlbert L. Reyes

    • What’s next for recommendations and reforms in SBC sexual abuse study?

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Becoming UNSTOPPABLE Christians

      Paid Promoted Content

    • Guidepost report documents pattern of ignoring, denying and deflecting on sexual abuse claims in SBC

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Author considers how to mourn what’s lost when the faithful leave church

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • What I learned about Polish hospitality toward Ukrainians: There but for the grace of God

      OpinionPatrick Wilson

    • As joblessness rocks South Africa, fake pastor diplomas are in demand

      NewsRay Mwareya and Nyasha Bhobo

    • Why breaking up is so hard to do for United Methodists: Connectionalism

      NewsCynthia Astle

    • Stop using Jesus to disguise your predatory patriarchy

      OpinionJessica Abell and Stephany Rose Spaulding

    • Oklahoma legislators say life begins at ‘fertilization’

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Sadly, I agree that a complementarian seminary shouldn’t offer women degrees in pastoral theology

      OpinionAnna Sieges

    • Baptists in Ukraine continue their humanitarian work amid devastation

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Intolerable cruelty is killing us

      OpinionKris Aaron

    • Louisville police training quoted Bible verse to say officers are God’s agents of wrath

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Another racist mass shooting and our failure to tend Jesus’ sheep

      OpinionEmily Holladay

    • Transitions for the week of 5-20-22

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • Learning about change from Henry Ford

      OpinionBob Newell

    • On three-month anniversary of Russian invasion, Ukrainian Baptists and neighbors keep helping everyone they can

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • While SBC weeps over sexual abuse allegations, the TheoBros take on Beth Allison Barr one more time

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • SBC’s former law firm sharply disagrees with Sexual Abuse Task Force report

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Hearing from victims’ families changed the death penalty debate in Connecticut

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • What’s next for recommendations and reforms in SBC sexual abuse study?

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Guidepost report documents pattern of ignoring, denying and deflecting on sexual abuse claims in SBC

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Author considers how to mourn what’s lost when the faithful leave church

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • As joblessness rocks South Africa, fake pastor diplomas are in demand

      NewsRay Mwareya and Nyasha Bhobo

    • Why breaking up is so hard to do for United Methodists: Connectionalism

      NewsCynthia Astle

    • Oklahoma legislators say life begins at ‘fertilization’

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Baptists in Ukraine continue their humanitarian work amid devastation

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Louisville police training quoted Bible verse to say officers are God’s agents of wrath

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Transitions for the week of 5-20-22

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • ‘It’s still the economy, stupid’

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Pennsylvania Baptist church licenses transgender man for ministry

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Buffalo massacre is more evidence of white Christian nationalism, sociologists say

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Displaced by the war in Ukraine, some African students battle to continue their education in Germany

      NewsAnthony Akaeze

    • Does the Johnson Amendment have any teeth left?

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Ministry jobs and more

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • Brian Dawkins says he’s blessed

      NewsMaina Mwaura

    • Bailey and Perrin named Vestal Scholars

      NewsBNG staff

    • Professor writes book to explain his journey from inerrantist to historicist

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • SBC presidential candidate wants ERLC leader fired for joining 75 other pro-life leaders in urging compassion for women who have abortions

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • $100 million gift to Samford is state’s largest to higher education

      NewsBNG staff

    • No formal name change proposed for SBC, and entities report back on use of NDAs in annual Book of Reports

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Don’t overlook the depth of the disease in the SBC

      OpinionPaula Garrett

    • Tear down the SBC Executive Committee and replace it

      OpinionLayne Wallace

    • It’s time to stop giving Christianity a pass on white supremacy and violence

      OpinionRobert P. Jones

    • SBC report shows how five words turn abuse victim from ‘survivor’ to ‘whore’

      OpinionMarv Knox

    • Former foster youth need to know they are not abandoned

      OpinionAlbert L. Reyes

    • What I learned about Polish hospitality toward Ukrainians: There but for the grace of God

      OpinionPatrick Wilson

    • Stop using Jesus to disguise your predatory patriarchy

      OpinionJessica Abell and Stephany Rose Spaulding

    • Sadly, I agree that a complementarian seminary shouldn’t offer women degrees in pastoral theology

      OpinionAnna Sieges

    • Intolerable cruelty is killing us

      OpinionKris Aaron

    • Another racist mass shooting and our failure to tend Jesus’ sheep

      OpinionEmily Holladay

    • Learning about change from Henry Ford

      OpinionBob Newell

    • Hymn stories: ‘Christ is alive! Let Christians sing’

      OpinionBeverly A. Howard

    • Gifts of hospitality in the midst of grief

      OpinionSara Robb-Scott

    • Bubba-Doo’s gets a new sign

      OpinionCharles Qualls

    • Conservative or liberal? Jesus widens our political landscape

      OpinionRussell Waldrop

    • Letter to the Editor: A response to Laura Ellis on abortion and Christian Realism

      OpinionLetters to the Editor

    • The Beloved Community and the heresy of white replacement: How ‘Beyoncé Mass’ gave me hope after the Buffalo massacre

      OpinionRobert P. Jones

    • The Holy Spirit: An advocate, comforter and encourager for times like these

      OpinionBarry Howard

    • The air of gathered worship: A 12-Sunday challenge

      OpinionPaul R. Gilliam III

    • Choose Life: Putin reminds us how bad theology can turn nuclear

      OpinionJillian Mason Shannon

    • I’m disappointed with the world but still wanting to hope

      OpinionRuss Dean

    • Racism from the perspective of a white man

      OpinionTerry Austin

    • ‘The Religion of the Lost Cause’ is back, and it may be winning

      OpinionBill Leonard, Senior Columnist

    • What is a Baptist?

      OpinionH. Stephen Shoemaker

    • Assessing the damage Twitter has done to American Christianity

      OpinionMark Wingfield

    • Indiana pastor admits ‘adultery’; woman says she was a teen

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Church of Scotland Approves Same-Sex Marriage

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBob Allen and Jeff Brumley

    • Banned from Communion in San Francisco, Pelosi receives Eucharist in Washington

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Senior Israeli lawmaker warns of “religious war” over Jerusalem moves

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Minnesota GOP apologizes for Soros puppetmaster video

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • If the media are reluctant to properly label the GOP’s racist, Christian nationalist ideologies, we’ll have trouble hanging on to democracy

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Pope voices hope church in China can operate in freedom

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Telehealth abortion demand is soaring. But access may come down to where you live

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • With AIPAC funding primary campaigns, young Jewish progressives move further left

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Welsh First Minister ‘regrets’ that Franklin Graham is coming to Wales

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Willow Creek announces major layoffs amid post-COVID struggle

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Ohio House passes bill requiring colleges give students 3 days of absences for religious observation

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • ‘Conversion therapy’ ban falls short in Minnesota Senate

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Don’t buy Alito’s assurances: here’s what happens next after Roe falls

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Leading Psychologist Bridges Trauma Healing and the Black Church

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • For some people, religious leaders might be most effective at communicating the importance of COVID-19 vaccination

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Former pastor in 2 states pleads guilty to child sex charges

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • A rabbi who ‘speaks to Christians’ condemned them on Twitter. It cost him his job.

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Deadly explosion damages historic church, Baptist offices in Cuba

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Faith on the ground in Buffalo: Voice Buffalo executive director Denise Walden

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • What Is Antisemitism? Evangelicals Favor Different Definitions

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Russian Religious Communities Opposed To Ukraine War Face Pressure And Censorship

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Pope’s recipe to heal his painful knee? A shot of tequila

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Why Not All Pro-Lifers are Celebrating

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Montana pastor J.D. Hall, Pulpit&Pen founder, charged with DUI, carrying weapon

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    Conversations that Matter.

    © 2022 Baptist News Global. All rights reserved.

    Want to share a story? We hope you will! Read our republishing, terms of use and privacy policies here.

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • RSS