Which major evangelical leaders publicly endorsed Trump in 2016-2024?
Executive summary
Major evangelical figures who publicly endorsed Donald Trump in 2016 include Liberty University president Jerry Falwell Jr., televangelist Paula White and pastor Robert Jeffress; many of those figures — and others such as Franklin Graham — continued to be publicly aligned with Trump into his presidency and the 2024 cycle, while a number of high-profile evangelical leaders withheld or shifted endorsements (sources: NPR, Axios, AP, Baptist News Global) [1] [2] [3] [4]. Exit-poll and survey data show overwhelming white evangelical voter support for Trump in 2016 (about 80%) and continued strong majorities through 2024 (about 8-in-10 in later reporting), but leadership endorsement was more mixed than rank-and-file voting patterns [5] [6] [7].
1. Who publicly endorsed Trump in 2016: named leaders and early adopters
Several prominent evangelical figures made explicit endorsements during Trump’s 2016 run: Liberty University president Jerry Falwell Jr. publicly backed Trump in January 2016 [1]. Paula White, a televangelist who later served as a spiritual adviser, was among Trump’s most visible faith allies in that period [2] [8]. Pastor Robert Jeffress of First Baptist Church of Dallas was an early high-profile evangelical endorser and introduced Trump at campaign events in 2016 [2] [9]. News accounts also report many evangelicals attended closed-door meetings with Trump in 2016 where movement leaders debated whether to endorse him [10] [11].
2. Who backed Trump in office and in 2020–2024: continuity and new alignments
Several of the 2016 allies continued public alignment with Trump during his presidency and into the 2024 cycle. Franklin Graham, a high-profile evangelical, praised Trump’s presidency and embraced some of his claims, while Paula White retained access and advisory roles into the administration, signaling continuity between 2016 allies and later Trump teams [3] [12] [8]. Baptist News Global and other outlets reported “growing numbers of conservative evangelical leaders are on board the Trump train for 2024,” even as some prominent pastors remained publicly cautious [4].
3. Evangelical leaders who held back, criticized or endorsed alternative Republicans
Not all major evangelical leaders endorsed Trump. Russell Moore of the Southern Baptist Convention publicly criticized Trump in 2016 and drew public rebukes; other nationally recognized figures withheld or delayed formal endorsements. In 2023 coverage, some leaders — including influential activists like Bob Vander Plaats — either withheld endorsements or backed alternatives such as Ron DeSantis in early 2024, reflecting a fractured leadership response even when rank-and-file evangelicals largely voted for Trump [13] [10] [7].
4. The gap between evangelical leaders and evangelical voters
Polls and exit polls show a consistent pattern: white, born‑again/evangelical voters overwhelmingly supported Trump in 2016 (about 80%) and similar majorities persisted into later cycles, with reports saying roughly 8-in-10 white evangelicals supported him in the 2024 contest [5] [6]. Multiple pieces note the important distinction that institutional or celebrity endorsements from pastors and denominational leaders were not monolithic — many influential leaders were reluctant to formally endorse even as much of the evangelical electorate backed Trump [10] [14].
5. How campaigns institutionalized evangelical support (advisory boards and faith outreach)
The Trump campaign created formal faith outreach structures that brought evangelical figures into advisory roles rather than simply soliciting endorsements. A 2016 Trump campaign press release announced an Evangelical Executive Advisory Board (noting leaders “were not asked to endorse” even as the campaign courted evangelical priorities), which institutionalized engagement with evangelical leaders and networks [15]. That organizational approach helped translate support from some leaders into policy access even where public endorsements were uneven [4].
6. Limitations, competing narratives and what the sources do not say
Available sources show named endorsements (Falwell Jr., Paula White, Jeffress, Franklin Graham among others) and document both continued leader support and significant reticence from other leaders, but they do not provide a comprehensive, single list of “every major evangelical leader” who publicly endorsed Trump across 2016–2024; a consolidated roster is not found in these articles (not found in current reporting). Sources disagree on extent and timing: some outlets emphasize durable evangelical loyalty (PBS, AP), while reporting from Time and others notes many prominent evangelical authors and pastors either endorsed rivals like DeSantis or delayed endorsements [9] [7] [4]. That divergence reflects differing measures — public endorsements by leaders versus aggregate evangelical voter behavior.
Sources: NPR (Falwell endorsement) [1]; Axios, Baptist News Global (Jeffress, Paula White, 2016–2024 activity) [2] [4]; AP, PBS (evangelical voter majorities, continued support into 2024) [3] [6] [9]; Time, Politico and PBS reporting on leaders’ mixed responses and meetings [7] [10] [16].