Were there prominent evangelical leaders who refused to endorse or later withdrew support from Trump during 2016–2024?
Executive summary
Yes. Multiple prominent evangelical leaders publicly refused to endorse or later withdrew support for Donald Trump between 2016 and 2024 — including high-profile figures such as Russell Moore and James Robison, and a wider set of clergy who withheld endorsements or shifted away from enthusiastic backing — even as many evangelicals continued to back Trump in mass polls (e.g., large majorities of white evangelicals in 2016–2024) [1] [2] [3].
1. A visible minority, not a mass exodus
Prominent dissent existed but it remained a minority inside the leadership class: commentators and scholars repeatedly note a “Never Trump” strain among evangelical leaders — people like Russell Moore are named as stalwart critics — even while institutional support and rank‑and‑file evangelical voters overwhelmingly backed Trump through 2016–2024 [1] [4]. The broad picture in scholarly and polling accounts is a divided leadership superimposed on a largely pro‑Trump evangelical electorate [1] [5].
2. Names and moments: who loudly stood apart
Russell Moore, formerly a top Southern Baptist official and later at Christianity Today, publicly broke with Trump and criticized Christian nationalism — his dissent is repeatedly cited as a warning to other leaders [6] [4]. James Robison, a televangelist who had served as a spiritual adviser, openly spoke against Trump in 2022, saying the former president could act “like a little elementary schoolchild” and expressing clear distance from him [2]. Reporting also highlights other evangelical figures who withheld or delayed endorsements in 2023 and 2024, such as Robert Jeffress and Franklin Graham, who at times declined immediate endorsement or said they would wait for the primary field to clear [7] [3].
3. Why leaders broke or hesitated — theology, tactics, access
The sources show several recurring reasons for leaders’ refusals: moral objections to Trump’s rhetoric and conduct; worries about Christian nationalism; strategic calculations about the party’s electoral prospects; and concern among humanitarian‑oriented evangelicals over immigration and foreign aid policies [8] [6] [9]. Some critics framed their stance as a defense of Christian witness against conflating the Gospel with partisan loyalty [8].
4. Political and institutional consequences for dissenters
Those who opposed Trump faced real risks: loss of access, institutional pushback, and accusations of disloyalty. Reporting notes that critics sometimes paid a professional or reputational price — for example, Russell Moore’s falling out with parts of Southern Baptist leadership is repeatedly cited — and that the Trump camp publicly attacked hesitant evangelicals as “disloyal” [4] [10].
5. Campaign context: 2022–2024 dynamics shifted some calculations
After Trump announced another run, press coverage documented a wave of high‑profile evangelical figures expressing distance or reversing prior enthusiasm — Business Insider and other outlets catalogued leaders “turning on” Trump after the 2022 announcement, and many prominent supporters said they would not automatically endorse him in the 2024 primary [2] [3]. At the same time, polling cited by the sources shows white evangelicals still provided Trump large shares of support, complicating the influence of elite dissent [6] [5].
6. Alternative evangelical efforts and organized opposition
Organized anti‑Trump faith efforts emerged: groups and campaigns such as “Evangelicals for Harris” and other anti‑Trump evangelical coalitions mounted public efforts to present alternatives and to call Trump a “false prophet,” showing a minority of evangelical leaders and strategists moved into active opposition [1] [11]. These efforts indicate institutionalized resistance beyond lone critics.
7. Limits of the record and what's not said
Available sources document named critics and withholding of endorsements, but they do not provide a complete roster of every evangelical leader who refused or withdrew support between 2016 and 2024; nor do they quantify the full institutional cost to dissenters across denominations beyond illustrative cases (available sources do not mention a comprehensive list of every leader who changed position) [2] [4].
8. Bottom line for readers
The story is not simple betrayal or unanimous support: a distinct, often prominent cohort of evangelical leaders refused to endorse or later backed away from Trump on moral, theological and strategic grounds, even as large blocs of evangelical voters and many influential pastors continued to supply Trump with durable political backing [1] [5]. Reporting shows a clear tension between elite dissent and grassroots loyalty that shaped conservative politics from 2016 through the 2024 cycle [10] [3].