U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday
blasted the magazine founded by the late Reverend Billy Graham
after the influential publication for conservative evangelical
U.S. Christians called for him to be removed from office.
Christianity Today on Thursday wrote in an editorial
entitled "Trump Should Be Removed from Office" that it could no
longer stand on the sidelines after the Republican president's
impeachment this week by the U.S. House of Representatives.
"The president of the United States attempted to use his
political power to coerce a foreign leader to harass and
discredit one of the president's political opponents," it wrote.
"That is not only a violation of the Constitution; more
importantly, it is profoundly immoral."
The Democratic-led House impeached Trump on charges of abuse
of power and obstruction of Congress over his effort to pressure
Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden, a
leading candidate for the Democratic nomination to face Trump in
the 2020 election. The Republican-led Senate is expected to hold
a trial next month on whether to remove Trump from office.
Trump, who has denied wrongdoing and branded his impeachment
as a politically-motivated effort by Democrats to overturn the
results of the 2016 election, questioned Christianity Today's
success and dismissed its call that he be removed from office.
"No President has done more for the evangelical community,
and it’s not even close," Trump tweeted.
Christianity Today Editor Mark Galli, in response, said
Trump's conduct was an urgent concern.
"We rarely comment on politics unless we feel it rises to
the level of some national ... concern that is really important.
And this would be a case," he told CNN in an interview. "This is
something we need as a movement to think about, pray about at
this time in our life."
Evangelical Christians make up about 25% of U.S. voters,
according to Pew Research, and have been a bedrock of Trump's
support. In 2016, he took over 80% of the group's votes,
according to Pew's polling.
In making its case, the magazine said its stance calling for
former President Bill Clinton's impeachment years ago applies
"almost perfectly to our current president."
Christianity Today acknowledged Trump has advanced
conservative Christian causes with his nominations for the U.S.
Supreme Court, his "defense of religious liberty" and his
economic policies.
But it said the impeachment process over Trump's efforts to
leverage his public office to solicit Ukraine's investigations
ahead of the 2020 U.S. election showed he "betrayed his
constitutional oath."
Trump on Friday suggested Christianity Today was "far left"
and supported Democrats - a charge Galli rejected, telling CNN
it was considered "pretty centrist."
Billy Graham's son Franklin said in a tweet on Friday that
his father, who was one of the best known Christian evangelical
leaders and a spiritual adviser to U.S. presidents, was a Trump
supporter and would have been "disappointed" in the editorial.
The magazine's editorial also criticized Democrats for what
it said was an effort to take down Trump since he took office,
but it concluded that did not justify the president's actions.
"To the many evangelicals who continue to support Mr. Trump
in spite of his blackened moral record, we might say this:
Remember who you are and whom you serve," it said. "Consider how
your justification of Mr. Trump influences your witness to your
Lord and Savior."