Attacks on the press of President Trump's style, and he has avoided much of the media, often preferring Twitter to sit-down interviews with journalists. But a religious TV network has with Trump and members of his administration this year, surpassing more prominent networks and news organizations in its access to the administration.
The Christian Broadcasting Network, or CBN, is best known for — a Christian talk show that has been on the air for decades. It's hosted by the televangelist, one-time Republican presidential candidate and CBN founder Pat Robertson from the company's headquarters on the campus of Regent University in Virginia Beach, Va.
After the deadly in October, Robertson warning that wickedness will lead to "violence and strife." He then between violence in the U.S. and what he described as a lack of respect for authority, including a "profound disrespect of our president, all across this nation."
Robertson has spoken favorably about Trump since the campaign. This summer, the two sat down for , which that he is "so proud of everything you're doing."
Trump's courting of evangelical leaders
by of CBS °µºÚ±¬ÁÏ found that since taking office, Trump gave the overwhelming majority of his network TV interviews to Fox °µºÚ±¬ÁÏ. He did, however, grant an interview to The New York Times on Thursday at his Florida golf club.
The Christian Broadcasting Network has had two interviews with the president this year — which is on par with The Wall Street Journal and more than The Washington Postor The Associated Press, as of late October, according to Knoller's count.
Pat Robertson's son, Gordon Robertson, is the network's CEO. He says access to Trump since the campaign has helped to raise CBN's profile outside of its conservative Christian audience.
"Other news organizations are saying, 'Wow, we didn't know about this CBN °µºÚ±¬ÁÏ. And how does David Brody get so many interviews with Donald Trump?' " the younger Robertson says.
Brody, CBN's chief political correspondent, says he first interviewed Trump in 2011. He says Trump understood early on the importance of courting evangelical leaders. Trump also seemed to understand that winning them over might take some effort, given his history of multiple marriages and .
"It's pretty funny because he walks in with a picture of his confirmation when he was a teenager ... just to say, 'Hey, look, see — here, I'm a Christian, take a look,' " Brody says.
Trump is a "believer"
Over the years, Brody estimates, he has interviewed Trump about 20 times, including an interview for a that is due out in February. Days after Trump's inauguration, Brody at the White House, where he asked about Trump's "spiritual journey" and his attitudes about prayer.
"I tell you what," Trump told Brody, "I've always felt the need to pray, so I would say that the office is so powerful that you need God even more."
In early December, Brody , who described Trump as a "believer," a genuine Christian.
"I think President Trump has a heart of gratitude for evangelical Christians in this country," Pence told Brody.
White evangelicals Trump in the 2016 election, and he has given evangelical leaders what several have described as unprecedented access to the White House. He has delivered on many of their priorities, including nominating U.S. Supreme Court Justice and appointing to key positions in his administration.
Trump's relationship with evangelical leaders despite allegations against him from of sexual harassment and assault.
Brody says many conservative Christians feel a kinship with Trump — the outsider who is ridiculed by the elites. He says they see in Trump a nostalgia for a time when many white evangelicals felt American culture was more explicitly aligned with Christian values.
"He, in essence, has become their ... moral crusader, in a way," Brody says. "Which is so wild that a guy like this would be in the role of moral crusader — who would have ever thought Donald Trump, of all people, would have been that guy?"
While Trump routinely scorns much of the mainstream press, he has been content to take his message directly to his base — on social media, and on CBN.
Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. 9(MDAxNDQ2NDAxMDEyNzU2NzM2ODA3ZGI1ZA001))
