Is there a God factor involved with President Trump’s appeal to voters? A new poll suggests that a notable amount of Americans think that’s a possibility, though partisan opinions were pronounced.
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders recently told the Christian Broadcasting Network that she felt God “wanted Donald Trump to become president” — a moment which inspired a question in a Fox News poll.
“A White House spokesperson said she believes God wanted Donald Trump to become president. What about you. Do you believe God wanted Donald Trump to become president, or don’t you believe that?” the poll asked.
Overall, a quarter of registered voters said they did believe it, while 62 percent said no, and 14 percent didn’t know. The poll itself was wide-ranging, surveying opinions among 36 different demographics.
The strongest affirmative came from white evangelicals; 55 percent agreed that God wanted Mr. Trump in the White House. That view was reflected by evangelist Franklin Graham following Mr. Trump victory in 2016. When asked to explain the unexpected win, Mr. Graham said “God showed up.”
Those who voted for Mr. Trump were next with strong positive sentiment with 46 percent agreeing with the idea — followed by GOP women (49 percent), all Republicans (45 percent), Republican men (42 percent) and conservatives (40 percent). Among Democrats, nine percent agreed.
The loudest negatives came from those who voted for Hillary Clinton: 87 percent said they did not believe God wanted Mr. Trump to be president, followed by liberals (85 percent) and all Democrats, as well as Democrat men and women at 84 percent.
The Fox News poll of 1,004 registered U.S. voters was conducted Feb. 10-12.
• Jennifer Harper can be reached at jharper@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.