Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee said the faith community is standing by President Trump despite the backlash from Democratic and Republican lawmakers over his response to the violent white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, last weekend.
Mr. Huckabee, a Southern Baptist minister, said Mr. Trump needs to realize the political environment won’t improve for him because the press, Democrats and members of his own political party are against him. But he said the president still has support from the faith community.
“That’s a key part of his constituency,” Mr. Huckabee said during an interview on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures.”
Mr. Trump has faced growing criticism after he said during a press conference on Tuesday that there were “very fine people” on both sides of the white supremacist protest in Charlottesville, which resulted in the death of an anti-racism protester.
Jerry Falwell Jr., president of the conservative Liberty University, supported Mr. Trump during the election and helped recruit Christian and evangelical voters. Mr. Falwell also defended him Sunday during an appearance on another television network, saying he initially didn’t think the president’s remarks should offend anyone.
However, Mr. Falwell said he later spoke to Jewish and black friends who told him they were scared during the events that transpired outside their places of worship last weekend.
“After hearing that, I understand how some people can misunderstand his words, so yes, I think he could be more polished and more politically correct, but that’s the reason I supported him is because he’s not,” Mr. Falwell said on ABC’s “This Week.”
• Alex Swoyer can be reached at aswoyer@washingtontimes.com.
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