For anyone who heard Jerry Falwell Jr.'s glowing introduction of Donald Trump when he spoke at Liberty University recently, his endorsement of Trump for president probably didn't come as a surprise. But that isn't stopping Liberty alumni and other Christian leaders from sharing their displeasure on social media.
If you don't know, Jerry Falwell Jr. is the president of Liberty University, the largest Christian university in the world.
A #LUAlumniAgainstTrump Facebook page quickly emerged.
Falwell says he's not working to elect a pastor in chief, rather he's interested in a commander in chief who's "a successful executive and entrepreneur, a wonderful father and a man who I believe can lead our country to greatness again."
He has encouraged people to look at the "fruit" of Trump's life such as his financial generosity. However, some Liberty alumni are drawing attention to some of Trump's, shall we say, more rotten fruit.
"For a school that focuses on loving God and loving other people, it's odd to endorse someone who only seems to love himself and other people who love him," Janet Kelly, class of '98, posted on Facebook.
LU alumni Paul Troth expressed his embarrassment...
Falwell's brother, Jonathan, who replaced his father as senior pastor at Thomas Road Baptist Church Tweeted...
He also posted this statement on Facebook:
Eager to win Iowa, Trump celebrated Falwell's endorsement on his Facebook page.
Michaela Messer points out that Falwell isn't a pastor like his father and brother, he's a lawyer.
New polling from the Pew Research Center shows Donald Trump is seen as the least religious of the Republican candidates for president.
The same poll shows 56 percent of Republicans say Trump would be a "good or great" president. They're numbers that indicate Jerry Falwell Jr.'s reasoning is in line with the majority of Republican voters.
On the campaign trail endorsements give candidates bragging rights, but political experts say they don't make much of a difference when it comes to votes.
In this case, Falwell's endorsement of Trump may end up doing more to hurt his relationship with some of his students and alumni who are Liberty's current and future donors than it does to help his candidate.
After receiving "a few questions" about his endorsement, Falwell posted an explanation on his Facebook page that you can read here.
Also, Liberty University is making the distinction that Falwell endorsed Trump as a private citizen, not as the president of the school. The thing is, if he wasn't the leader of the largest Christian university in the world, it wouldn't matter.
