The Atlantic, October 21, 2019: Nothing Will Persuade White Evangelicals to Support Impeachment
President Donald Trump famously once said that he wouldn’t lose support even if he shot someone on Fifth Avenue in New York City
. As his presidency enters its most dramatic phase yet, just one year ahead of the 2020 election, he might be right.
In mid-September, 94% of Republicans opposed impeachment. A month later—after the news about Trump’s fateful phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky
, and after House Democrats formally launched an impeachment inquiry—their views are essentially unchanged. Even with these revelations, 93% of Republicans remained opposed to impeachment in mid-October, according to data released today from the Public Religion Research Institute. Of all Republican voters, two subgroups stand out for their unwavering support of Trump: those who primarily get their news from Fox, and white evangelical Christians.
