The Media Research Center cannot tolerate any criticism of President Trump, even — especially — if it comes from a Christian viewpoint. So when Christianity Today editor Mark Galli wrote an editorial advocating President Trump’s impeachment, the MRC made sure to go into freakout mode.
Aiden Jackson kicked off the freakout with a Dec. 20 post asserting that Christianity Today was “notorious for opposing Trump” — but she could cite only one other piece from the magazine, which ran more than three years ago.Still, she insisted that “Readers of ‘Christianity Today’ would most likely find its inclusion of another anti- Trump op ed about as surprising as a Trump hit piece featured on ABC, which is to say not very.”
Tim Graham followed by taking offense to Galli discussing the editorial on NPR, in which he likened evangelicals’ relationship with Trump to a wife who puts up with a “verbally abusive spouse” because he’s a good provider otherwise but then escalates to physical abuse.Graham couldn’t be bothered to make a defense of Trump, instead huffing “If the evangelical is willing to insult Trump in the most viciously personal way imaginable, he is welcome to the taxpayer-subsidized airwaves.
Mark Finkelstein complained that MSNBC would “exploit for maximum political gain” the Christianity Today editorial by pointing out not inaccurately that right-wing evangelicals “would sell Jesus out if they thought they could get something from it.” Like Graham, Finkelstein attacked the messenger: “It’s always amazing to marvel at the chutzpah of Reverend Sharpton calling out someone else for exploiting their religious bona fides or race-baiting, or being a shameless con man. Holy Tawana Brawley!”
Graham and Brent Bozell groused that “The left has lunged to promote an editorial by Christianity Today magazine that insists Trump must be removed from office” before declaring the “the cultural winners and losers of 2019.”
Finally, Jeffrey Lord whined that Galli’s editorial “sounded no different than the average anti-Trump/Never-Trump blasts that routinely come from the outlets of the decidedly non-religious Leftist State Media,” then ranted about “Christian elites” and how a “left-wing” editor at the rival Christian Post resigned after that publication ran an editorial defending Trump. Lord offered no evidence that this editor is “left-wing” other than his resignation.
Lord, like the rest of the MRC writers, offered no point-by-point rebuttal of Galli’s editorial; instead, he declared that it was a “massive backfire” because such “rabid anti-Trumpism will prove to be one of the Trump campaigns biggest assets.”