Evangelicals are obsessed with Trump's border wall as a symbol of 'white Christian dominance'

President Donald Trump remains steadfast in his demand for funding to build a wall along the United States' southern border, despite the fact that the majority of Americans oppose it.

Why is Trump unyielding? A Washington Post writer says that the wall isn't just popular with the majority of the Republican party, but that it's wildly popular with Trump's white evangelical base.

Trump's prospects in 2020 are tied to "white evangelical Christians who continue fervently supporting Trump no matter what he says and does," writes Greg Sargent and "for these voters, it appears, the wall is an extraordinarily potent totem."

Back in early 2016, white evangelicals supported the wall by about 10 fewer percentage points than they do today.

"Why is the wall so important to this segment of Trump’s base in particular?" Sargent asks Robert Jones, the head of the Public Religion Research Institute.

Jones said the wall fits with the Christian worldview of a “dangerous battleground” with “chosen insiders and threatening outsiders."

“For white evangelicals who see the sun setting on white Christian dominance in the country, the wall is a powerful metaphor,” Jones said. “Even if Trump loses support among other parts of his 2016 base, the data suggests white evangelicals may be the last loyalists standing by his side.As Democrats take control of the House and as the Mueller investigation advances, white evangelicals look to be building their own wall of defense around Trump.”

Read the full piece here.