Macho talk or rape culture? Despite mass exodus of GOP supporters, evangelical leaders stand by Trump

As Twitchy reported, after the release of the lewd #TrumpTapes last week, literally dozens of Republican legislators and other high-profile party leaders jumped from the Trump Train over the weekend. Some withdrew their endorsements, while others demanded that Donald Trump step aside and leave the nomination to Mike Pence.

While support from politicians eroded, many evangelical leaders made it clear that they were sticking with Trump in spite of his comments about women.

J. Falwell Jr, James Dobson, Ralph Reed, Pat Robertson — all standing behind Trump, even after the p-grab talk. Goodbye, #ReligiousRight

— Rod Dreher (@roddreher) October 10, 2016

Mammon 1
Kingdom of Heaven 0 https://t.co/sigV2Qi6KR

— Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) October 10, 2016

There is something very wrong with the religious right. They lost their moral compass on this issue.

— Angela Milanese (@AngelaMilanese) October 10, 2016

https://twitter.com/MichialFarmer/status/785622821523300352

I was saying this the other day – #ReligiousRight stands for Nothing! Posers – every single one.

— MDP (@MEDP831) October 10, 2016

@arch85la Maybe our suffering through this campaign is worth it if it exposes the kingdom-building hypocrites for all to see.

— Julie Young (@featuremom) October 11, 2016

https://twitter.com/NevAriJason/status/785603682041667584

Yes, it's wrong to cheat on your spouse & have an affair. But sexual assault is "macho" and acceptable? Hypocrites and con men.

— FackingFulcans (@Fackingfulcans) October 10, 2016

Those who characterized Trump’s comments not as simple “locker room talk” but as sexual assault certainly weren’t going to be happy with one-time presidential hopeful Pat Robertson concluding his words were just “macho” posturing.

It’s no surprise that even the youngest of these evangelical leaders is in his 50s, and there’s not much of a bench to freshen the lineup. Barack Obama won’t be around for press photographers to frame inside of a halo, but maybe President Hillary will lapse into her Southern preacher accent every now and then when she starts sermonizing from the Oval Office.

Liberals and #NeverTrump conservatives alike aren’t wasting the opportunity to call them out on their hypocrisy, but they’re stuck with the same choices for president as the rest of the country — and heaven only knows how quickly progressives would have destroyed someone like Rick Santorum for his own participation in the GOP’s “War on Women,” tapes or no tapes.