A flood of new allegations against Donald Trump came forward Wednesday evening, including a New York Times bombshell about two women who claim the Republican presidential nominee touched them inappropriately in the past. In a week when many conservatives have been fleeing the candidate, Jerry Falwell, Jr., president of Liberty University and an influential evangelical leader, said that he would vote for Trump no matter what may still be hiding in his allegedly lascivious past.
Asked about the latest accusations, Fallwell demurred at first. “I can’t answer a hypothetical question,” he told CNN’s Erin Burnett Wednesday evening. “You’re saying if — if he murdered somebody, would I forgive him? That’s like asking something as ridiculous as that.”
But Burnett pressed, citing additional allegations against Trump from other women. “If what they say is true, does Jerry Falwell, Jr. vote for Donald Trump?”
“I’m going to vote for Donald Trump,” he replied, “because I believe he’s the best qualified to be president of the United States. And I’m not going to say anything to besmirch the character of any of these women.”
He then proceeded to do just that by casting doubt on the allegations. “It’s the heat of an election. It’s four weeks away from Election Day and everybody is in a frenzy. And so, we have to keep that in mind. The New York Times is very anti-Trump, and I believe the statement that was just released. They absolutely deny all the allegations.”
“What about the Donald Trump of today? Is he a changed man? I think he is. He’s taken all the right positions on all the issues. He will do what’s best for America as president.”
Falwell is one of many social conservatives who condemned Trump for bragging about sexual assault, but then adamantly stood by the nominee.
Many of those same social conservatives claim that their desire to protect women from abuse is the reason they oppose transgender equality, even though there’s no evidence that transgender people are predators.
At this point, it’s hard to say if there’s anything that could come to light about Trump’s character that could possibly deter these conservatives from standing by their endorsements.
The Trump campaign has said of the New York Times report that the “entire article is fiction.”