President Donald Trump's most dedicated group of supporters are white Evangelical Christians. Exit polls indicated that 80% of Evangelicals voted for Trump in the 2016 election, despite his infamous comments encouraging violence and sexual assault.
But urging a foreign leader to announce a politically motivated investigation in exchange for congressionally approved military aid proved to be a step too far for the folks at Christianity Today, a popular Evangelical magazine.
That's what the editor-in-chief of Christianity Today, Mark Galli, said in a scathing piece on Trump's impeachment, titled Trump Should Be Removed from Office.
The piece heavily criticizes Trump's corrupt dealings with Ukraine policy.
"The impeachment hearings have illuminated the president's moral deficiencies for all to see. This damages the institution of the presidency, damages the reputation of our country, and damages both the spirit and the future of our people. None of the president's positives can balance the moral and political danger we face under a leader of such grossly immoral character."
As well as his Twitter feed.
"His Twitter feed alone—with its habitual string of mischaracterizations, lies, and slanders—is a near perfect example of a human being who is morally lost and confused."
Noting its similar positions during the impeachment of former President Bill Clinton and the would-be impeachment of former President Richard Nixon, the piece fervently called for Trump's removal from office.
"Whether Mr. Trump should be removed from office by the Senate or by popular vote next election—that is a matter of prudential judgment. That he should be removed, we believe, is not a matter of partisan loyalties but loyalty to the Creator of the Ten Commandments."
The piece does allow a few concessions for the President, claiming that Democrats "had it out" for Trump "from day one," and (falsely) claimed that Trump was never given a serious opportunity to rebut the findings of the House Intelligence Committee's investigation before the House Judiciary Committee.
Trump soon took to his favorite platform to address the piece, and it's safe to say he didn't turn the other cheek.
Saying he wouldn't read "ET" again, Trump appeared to confuse Christianity Today with Entertainment Tonight.
Notably, Christianity Today was founded by the late Evangelical pastor Billy Graham, whose son—Franklin Graham—is one of Trump's most vocal supporters.
After the article's publication, Graham tweeted in defense of the President, invoking his father.
But many sang the op-ed's praises.
But some Evangelicals claimed the criticisms were "fake news."
It's unclear what, if any, effect this will have on Trump's Evangelical support, but it's a notable development in a base that just might be fracturing.
