LIVONIA, Mich. (AP) — Standing before hundreds of people in a suburban Detroit chapel, at an event organized by Donald Trump's campaign, Marlin J. Reed declared that God had called on them to vote for the former president.
“You are being called upon to stand up and face down this darkness and face down these lies and refuse to stop speaking, but to speak up and to stand up and make it known that we are not going to take this," said Reed, the pastor of New Wine Glory Ministries in Livonia, Michigan. “We are not going to lie down, we are not going to allow you to take our country and take our rights and our freedoms.”
The “Believers for Trump” initiative includes outreach to Black voters, a traditionally Democratic constituency with which Trump has tried to increase his support. The Oct. 5 stop in Michigan included Black speakers such as Ben Carson, a longtime Trump surrogate who was his housing secretary. Carson urged evangelicals not to shy away from what he called “corrupt” earthly politics.
“Unless Jesus Christ is on the ballot, you’re always choosing between the lesser of two evils,” Carson said to applause. “That’s why God gave you a brain.”
Pastor Lorenzo Sewell, who spoke at the Republican National Convention and whose Detroit church hosted a Black conservative roundtable with Trump over the summer, rallied the crowd and proclaimed that the United States must remain a Christian country.
Trump's campaign has directly nourished a fusion of conservative politics and theology to energize evangelical Christians in swing states. The campaign has launched a “Believers for Trump” program and conducted several calls with conservative faith leaders, overwhelmingly evangelical pastors, on how to mobilize their congregations for Trump. The Republican nominee plans an event Monday near Charlotte, North Carolina, with allied pastors.
Pastor Lorenzo Sewell, who spoke at the Republican National Convention and whose Detroit church hosted a Black conservative roundtable with Trump over the summer, rallied the crowd and proclaimed that the United States must remain a Christian country.