Christian Faith Leaders Rebuke Trump in Open Letter

Ahead of the “Evangelicals for Trump” event today, over a dozen Christian Faith Leaders in Florida signed an open letter to Trump, hitting him on his countless broken promises to Floridians and failure to earn their support in his bid for re-election.

Click here to sign the petition to tell Trump his immoral actions cost him your vote.

Read the open letter:

Dear President Trump,

Mr. President, you are coming to our home in Florida to launch a new coalition for your reelection campaign called “Evangelicals for Trump.” As members of the Christian faith, we cannot stand idly by while you attempt to co-opt our religion for your political gain and claim support from our community.

You are coming here to make promises you’re incapable of fulfilling and profess values you possess in name only. In the gospel of John, the Lord tells us: let us not to serve Him “in word or talk, but in deed and in truth.

Mr. President, you espouse the words of Christian values, but your policies and your behavior do not reflect that. There is absolutely nothing good or virtuous about tearing immigrant families apart, cutting programs for the poor while giving hundreds of millions of tax cuts to the wealthiest among us, or threatening to take away healthcare from those with preexisting conditions — all of which are lynchpins of your agenda.

Jesus expects us to care for rich and poor alike. But, while you passed tax breaks for the rich, you have tried to make massive cuts to programs like SNAP that address the growing problem of hunger in America. In Florida, about 200,000 children could lose their access to free lunches under changes your administration has planned.

When you were a candidate in Florida, you promised to “massively lower your taxes. That’s businesses. That’s middle income That’s everybody.” But you broke that promise to help “everybody.” Almost half of the tax cuts are going to the richest 1 percent of Florida taxpayers. Worse, your tax bill raises taxes on 3.6 million middle and low-income Floridians. Helping to enrich those who already have plenty while burdening those who are struggling is not reflective of our Christian values.

Christ helped to heal the sick and Christians have spent decades working to ease suffering. Instead of working to expand affordable healthcare — you have attempted to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA). You put protections for people with preexisting conditions at risk, threatening their ability to afford care.

If you succeed in dismantling the ACA, coverage protections for 3,526,000 Floridians with preexisting conditions would be in danger. It would also eliminate benefits, including maternity care coverage and the ability for children to stay on their parent’s insurance up to age 26. Your mission to dismantle our health care system is not only bad policy, but it is immoral and is not Christian.

What have you done to “love thy neighbor as thyself?” You ordered your administration to separate immigrant families and detain children in prison-like centers. You used vulgar language to describe countries in Africa. You demean, mock, and sometimes threaten your political rivals.

So, Mr. President, you are coming here to rally around a faith that you have failed to uphold. We need more than a sermon on your Christian values, we need you to act on those proclaimed values to uplift the poor, help the sick, and love thy neighbor. A person who cannot stay true to their values has no place in the Oval Office and you, sir, do not have the moral fortitude to deserve our support.

Sincerely,

Reverend Kevin Chambliss, Covenant Missionary Baptist Church, Miami-Dade County

Reverend James T Golden, Manatee County

Rev. Ana Higginbothan, Director of Social Action Commission, St. Paul A.M.E Church, Palm Beach County

Reverend Gerald Kisner, Palm Beach County

Missionary Dr. Stephanie Poole, Church of God in Christ, Palm Beach County

Reverend Kevin Jones, Assistant Pastor, Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church

Dr. Robert M. Spooney, Pastor, Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church, Orange County

Reverend Jason Fairbanks, First Congregational United Church of Christ, Palm Beach County

Reverend Lionel F. Camel, Mount Calvary Baptist Church, Palm Beach County

Elder Richard Broxey, Church of God In Christ, Palm Beach County

Elder Dr. Deandre Poole, Church of God in Christ, Palm Beach County

Elder Dr. Philip Hall, Church of God in Christ, Palm Beach County

Elder James Tapscott, Church of God in Christ, Palm Beach County