It's all over the Internet ... again. In October Relevant reported that "61% of Evangelicals plan to vote for Trump." After the election The Guardian reported that 75% of white Evangelicals voted for Trump. And Politico reported that Trump only got 76 to 78% of the white, born-again, Christian vote.
Except ... it's just not true. It's interesting how the media is using this to paint "white Evangelicals" in a negative light rather than a truthful representation of the facts.
In truth, barely 60% of Evangelicals were registered to vote. According to estimates, white Evangelicals make up 25% of the nation. That is, 25% (or so) of Americans identify as Evangelicals. Subtract the non-whites. Subtract the non-voters. What are you left with? Well, if 1 in 4 claim to be Evangelicals and 1 in 3 of them didn't vote, you're quickly losing ground. Put another way, if 75% of those who claim to be Evangelicals and are white constitute only 60% of white Evangelicals, then only 45% of self-identified white Evangelicals voted for Trump this election. Now, subtract the "actual" Evangelicals from the "self-identified" and you're going to end up with a smaller number.
As it turns out, then, the under-story is clear. it's not about how many white Evangelicals voted for Trump. The point of the constant chatter is that whites in general (Why didn't they report the number of minority Evangelicals?) are evil and Evangelicals in particular are particularly evil. They're dangerous. They support the wrong side. They're not your friend. Don't you forget it. We'll have to do something about that someday. Maybe not yet, but ...
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