After cheerleading for a pedophile, Trump's white evangelical support drops double digits

A new survey from Pew found that among white evangelicals, support for Trump is down 17 percent over the last year. In February, when this group of supporters was polled, 78 percent supported him. That has dropped down to 61 percent.

Despite his track record of sexual abuse and racism, this core group was a key factor in Trump securing the Republican nomination and winning the electoral college, even though he lost the popular vote by nearly 3 million votes.

Trump has offered full-throated support for Alabama Senate Roy Moore, long a hero of the “religious right.” Trump has put the power of his office in Moore’s service, even as credible allegations against him of child sexual abuse and other inappropriate sexual behavior have surfaced.

Trump has received high-profile support from figures popular with white evangelicals, including former Gov. Mike Huckabee and Liberty University head Jerry Falwell Jr. They have repeatedly piped up in the media to make excuses for Trump’s crude and cruel behavior.

But even in those quarters, there is a loss of support for Trump.

The trend reflects overall disgust with his unpopular presidency. His approval with all groups is down 7 percent, to 32 percent. There isn’t a single demographic where Trump hasn’t lost ground, even though his presidency began under a cloud of distrust and meager support.

He lost ground with blacks, whites, Latinos, women, men — no matter political ideology or education, he lost support with every group.

That is the outcome of a presidency that has endorsed white supremacists, mocked and denigrated women and every nonwhite ethnic group, while also pursuing legislation designed to hurt working families.

There are also the multiple investigations of his work with Russian operatives during the campaign and the conviction of high-level subordinates.

The Republican Party continues to support and enable Trump, but the American people never have and are increasingly less likely to do so. Even in the community of white evangelicals, who bought in to Trump’s rhetoric, are growing sour on his losing presidency.