Polling editor Joanna Piacenza told Hill.TV on Friday that the religious left has begun to increasingly make itself known in reaction to President Trump.
“It’s emerging within the Trump administration,” Piacenza, features editor at Morning Consult, told Hill.TV’s Jamal Simmons on “What America’s Thinking.”
“We’re also a country that’s roughly 70 percent Christian, and within Democrats, Christians still make up a majority. It’s about two-thirds of Democrats,” she continued.
“But what’s interesting and different about the Democratic makeup of Christians is it’s very, very different than the makeup of Republicans. … Roughly 4 in 10 of Christians who are Democrat are nonwhite, and about a quarter, maybe a little bit more, are white Christians.”
Piacenza’s comments come as 2020 Democratic presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Ind., has made moves toward rallying the religious left, as the Trump administration is seen as tied closely with Christian conservatives.
Buttigieg, who is openly gay, clashed this week with Vice President Pence on his views on homosexuality and Christianity.
“Speaking only for myself, I can tell you that if me being gay was a choice, it was a choice that was made far, far above my pay grade,” Buttigieg said on Sunday.
Pence responded on Thursday, telling CNBC that Buttigieg should know better than to attack his faith.
“He said some things that are critical of my Christian faith and about me personally. And he knows better. He knows me,” Pence said.
— Julia Manchester
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