How The Christian Post Sold Its Soul For Trump
The inside story of a major Christian publication gradually joining Team Trump and losing itself along the way
I was politics editor of The Christian Post from 2011 to 2019. I watched it go from anti-Trump to reluctant-Trump to pro-Trump. When leadership made it clear the site would pledge its allegiance to Trump, I faced a tough choice: Should I stay or should I go?
This is the story of CP’s gradual descent into Trumpism, and how its embrace of a man who is a walking repudiation of all that Christianity holds dear provides a microcosm of the festering wounds within American evangelicalism itself.
The Nightmare Before Christmas
On December 23, 2019, I was told by Michelle Vu, my boss at The Christian Post, to publish a pro-Trump op-ed as an editorial, meaning it was to express the position of the media organization. It can’t be an editorial, I explained, because I don’t agree with it and I’m an editor. Vu said she would call me back.
The second call from Vu came quickly. When the conversation took a more ominous tone, I grabbed my voice recorder.
“… right now I know that you’re very upset about this and it is your decision whether you can accept…
