Donald Trump’s speech Friday to evangelicals at the Values Voter Summit was greeted with hooting and hollering and a standing ovation. But throughout the Omni Shoreham hotel in Washington, D.C. where the social conservatives’ conference was being held were signs of anxiety that the movement wasn’t fully behind the GOP nominee.
“I’d like to elect a godly man, but we don’t have that choice,” Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) could be heard saying in the hallway to another attendee, before giving a speech urging voters to rally around Trump.
The Values Voter Summit is an annual confab organized by FRC Action, the political arm of the social conservative organization the Family Research Council.
According to FRC President Tony Perkins, Trump’s appearance Friday marked the first time a Republican nominee has given a speech at the conference. Perkins told TPM that it showed Trump “without question” recognized the “importance of this voting bloc.”
Trump’s speech — which covered the Supreme Court, religious freedom, and pet issues like the repeal of the Johnson Amendment — was a clear play for their interests.
His remarks won plaudits from many attendees, even those who admitted they weren’t sold on Trump in the past.
“This is the second time we’ve listened to him in person,” said Vernon Lewis, a conference-goer from Texas. “He is just a different man when you see him like that.”
But others signaled they still weren’t convinced yet.
Sarah Ocker, a college student from Oklahoma, said she was originally a Ted Cruz supporter, and has “been looking for a reason to vote” for Trump.
“I am still not entirely there, but more there than I was before I heard him speak today,” Ocker said.
William Eads, from Florida, said he also started as a Cruz fan, and still plans to write in Cruz’s name come November.
“[Trump’s] covered the points that needed to be covered, but I am very concerned about his ability and desire to enact them based on his past experiences, what he’s supported in the past,” Eads said after Trump’s speech. “I find it hard to believe that he has made this miraculous change. And that he is going to follow through on some of his promises.”
Even Trump’s supporters signaled there was more work to be done to shore up the evangelical vote.
“I would like Trump to announce his cabinet, so everyone knows exactly who will be working with him on the problems America faces,” said Rosie Avila, a conservative author who had a booth at the conference. “And then, I think that will encourage more conservatives who were for Cruz or Rubio or whoever to come along and say okay.”
Former Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) delivered a speech warning that — unlike “Hollywood” types promising to leave the country if Trump was elected — Christians would have nowhere to go under a President Clinton
“Believers need to recognize that they could be very comfortable with Donald Trump,” Bachmann told TPM before the speech. “We have everything on the line in this election.”
Perhaps the most common argument for voting Donald Trump was not Trump himself, but his opponent, Clinton.
“Hillary is definitely not our candidate, we know exactly what she is going to do,” said Susana Pando-Taupier, who writes “pro-life” children books. “[Trump] definitely was not my first choice, but I know that in this election someone like him is who we need in order to defeat everything that the left is throwing at this election.”
