Religious Conservatives Show Little Appetite for Change From Trump at the Top of the GOP – By Susan Milligan (US News) / June 23, 2023
Religious conservatives had little appetite for any of the GOP contenders during their annual conference, flummoxing the field of candidates who were uneven in their approach to the former president.
At the Faith and Freedom Coalition conference Friday, a single commandment ruled as the religious conservative group heard a slate of Republican presidential hopefuls:
Thou shalt not speak ill of Donald Trump.
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie did it and was roundly booed and shouted down as he slammed his former ally for lacking character and for refusing to accept accountability for his actions.
Former Vice President Mike Pence, who in March told a white-tie dinner crowd of Washington’s political elite that “history will hold Donald Trump accountable” for his behavior on Jan. 6, 2021, seemed to forget all about that on Friday, casting his clashes with the former president as though he were merely someone who rooted for a rival sports team.
