One of Trump's most vocal evangelical backers is holding off on endorsing his 2024 bid
Donald Trump speaking with attendees at the "Rally to Protect Our Elections" hosted by Turning Point Action. (Gage Skidmore/Flickr)
November 16, 2022
Texas megachurch pastor and known Trump supporter Robert Jeffress said on Wednesday that he'll hold off on endorsing the former president's 2024 run until he's nominated by the GOP, Newsweek reports.
"Donald Trump was a great president, and if he becomes the GOP nominee in 2024 I will happily support him," Jeffress told Newsweek.
Jeffress went on to say that "the Republican Party is headed toward a civil war that I have no desire or need to be part of. My priority is being pastor of First Baptist Church Dallas and preaching God's word to millions of people each week on our television and radio broadcasts."
Jeffress made his remarks after Trump announced his 2024 candidacy from Mar-a-Lago this Tuesday.
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Jeffress, who was deemed one of Trump's "spiritual advisers," is a vocal ally of Trump and has disseminated some of the most extreme rhetoric to come out of the pro-Trump evangelical camp. In 2020, he told pro-Trump evangelist Jim Bakker that Republicans are of God, and the Democrats are doing the work of the Devil.
“I want to be very clear,” Jeffress told Bakker. “To me, this is not about partisan politics. People ask me all the time, ‘Why do you as a pastor get involved in something like this?’ — This is not a war between Republicans and Democrats. It’s not even a war between the left and the right — this is a war between good and evil. This is a war between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan.”