Religion

Secret Audio of Donald Trump and Ivanka Wooing Christian Leaders Leaks and It’s as Awful as You’d Expect

A recently recovered audio recording reveals Donald and Ivanka Trump pandering to Christian right leaders in the run-up to the 2016 Presidential election and is featured in the upcoming documentary Battleground, which was directed by Cynthia Lowen.

Lowen’s documentary puts anti-abortion activists under the microscope. The audio, taken during a closed-door session between Trump and right-wing Christian leaders just 40 days before the election, The Independent reports.

It’s reported that he met with members of the Christian right in June of that year as well. However, the audio for the documentary was recorded during another meeting that occurred on September 29, 2016.

The focus of the meeting was to debate how Trump would “fulfill the Christian right’s legislative and cultural priorities,” Battleground reports. At first, we hear unidentified participants chatting. Then Trump enters the room and greets those in attendance.

“This is serious power,” he says.

Then Steve Bannon, the chief executive officer of Trump’s campaign, holds forth.

“The key that picks the lock to this election is you. Conservative Catholics and evangelicals who have not voted, who have not been motivated to vote, have to come to the polls,” Bannon tells the meeting participants. “If we don’t win on November 8th, it’s because evangelical and Catholic leaders have not delivered. Your fate is in your own hands.”

At another point in the documentary, Southern Baptist preacher Robert Jeffress, who leads a megachurch in Dallas, Texas, and is also a televangelist and a Fox News contributor tells participants:

“There is only one candidate running in this election is pro-life, pro-religious liberty, pro-conservative justices to the Supreme Court. And there’s only candidate who treats the views of conservative Christians with respect. And that candidate is Donald Trump.”

Jeffress has since confirmed the quote’s accuracy as well as its timing in an email to The Independent.

Then Trump mentions the Supreme Court and points out he may be able to appoint several justices, telling the participants: “And this president could choose — I mean, it could be five. Probably going to be three. It could very well be four, but it could even be five justices. So you get Hillary Clinton in there, it’s over.”

And of course, we know the results of Trump becoming president since we now have three additional Supreme Court justices thanks to him — Amy Coney Barrett, Brett Kavanaugh, and Neil Gorsuch.

Then this is where Ivanka Trump comes in and we hear dear old dad introducing her. “Here’s my daughter.” Ivanka greets everyone and tells them “Hello, good morning, everyone! This is a very full, impressive room.” But her introduction is short-lived as Trump tells her “these are the most powerful people in the country. Go back to work now.”

But after Ivanka left the room conservative Christian radio host Eric Metaxas needles Trump.

“As much as I love your daughter, she got you in trouble on the Planned Parenthood issue, however.”

Trump responded, saying “the feeling is that a lot of women are very happy with Planned Parenthood, but because of the fact they perform abortions, I can’t support it. I would defund it.”

Metaxas was still skeptical.

“Okay, but unless you hit that very hard, there are many Christians that just don’t believe you.”

While her father was running in 2016, Ivanka was pretty vague when she was asked her thoughts on abortion rights. At one point, during an interview on Boston Public Radio, she was asked if she supports abortion rights.

Her answer?

“I don’t talk about my politics. I don’t feel like it’s my role, and not the candidate’s. I’m the daughter… I don’t think my politics are relevant to the discussion.”

It’s understandable that people may want to know her stance on this, especially since her own father has remained evasive about whether he was involved with anyone who’d had an abortion. However, Ivanka has since solidified her stance, stating she is “unapologetically” opposed to abortion rights.

Of course Ivanka pretends to be a supporter of women’s rights, but in a review of her supposed efforts to support key issues like paid family and medical leave, child care, equal pay, among other things, the Center for American Progress gave her a report card that was studded with D’s and F’s.

She’s learned from dear old dad — she has no problem being completely fake if it serves her and her father’s needs. They supported evangelical nutters who have forever changed the U.S. — and not necessarily for the good.

The audio from the meeting in embedded in the Independent’s article HERE.

Here’s the trailer for Battleground:

meet the author

Megan has lived in California, Nevada, Arizona, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Florida and she currently lives in Central America. Living in these places has informed her writing on politics, science, and history. She is currently owned by 15 cats and 3 dogs and regularly owns Trump supporters when she has the opportunity. She can be found on Twitter at https://twitter.com/GaiaLibra and Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/politicalsaurus

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