Are there examples where David Jeremiah endorsed political candidates or partisan activism (dates/years)?
Executive summary
David Jeremiah has engaged in public political commentary and participated in high‑profile evangelical political events; reporting shows at least one instance tied to the 2016 Trump campaign and repeated appeals to voters about values over party across multiple years [1] [2] [3] [4]. While some coverage frames Jeremiah as politically active, other sources emphasize his recurrent refrain to “vote values, not party,” which complicates claims of routine, explicit candidate endorsements [5] [3].
1. 2016: In the room with Trump — an evangelical Q&A that carried political weight
Scholarly reporting documents that David Jeremiah was one of several influential evangelical pastors invited to a closed‑door Mike Huckabee‑moderated session with then‑candidate Donald Trump in 2016, where those leaders posed questions to Trump as part of a concerted effort to secure evangelical acquiescence and enthusiasm for the candidate [1]. The Australian Journal of Anthropology article names Jeremiah alongside James Dobson, Tony Perkins and others as part of the “old guard” whose engagement was instrumental in shaping evangelical sentiment toward Trump in that cycle, which signals a form of partisan activism by lending institutional religious authority to a presidential campaign encounter [1].
2. 2016: A public “decision” and the language of political messaging
A press release attributed to David Jeremiah states he “announces his decision on the 2016 Presidential Election” and quotes him framing the election as about “Americans” and the future of the judiciary, concluding with the line “My name is David Jeremiah and I approve this message,” language that mirrors political advertising copy and indicates an explicit public stance in that election cycle [2]. The press release presents Jeremiah as moving beyond abstract exhortation to vote and into direct electoral messaging in 2016 [2].
3. 2012 and recurring counsel: Vote values, not party
Earlier reporting and church news outlets document Jeremiah producing a video in 2012 urging Christians to “vote according to their values” rather than by party affiliation, a repeated theme in his public communications that frames political involvement as values‑driven rather than partisan endorsement [3] [5]. Baptist Press and the Biblical Recorder reprinted and summarized that 2012 message, showing Jeremiah actively encouraging political participation while simultaneously disclaiming allegiance to a party line [5] [3].
4. 2024: Political rhetoric without named endorsements
In 2024 Jeremiah released a video titled “Prayer for America” warning that “the soul of America is at stake” and urging Christians to vote; the piece is explicitly political in tone but does not name candidates or parties, indicating continued mobilization of his audience around political stakes while stopping short of a named endorsement [4]. This pattern—mobilize voters, emphasize values, but avoid naming a specific candidate—appears repeatedly in the available reporting [4] [5].
5. How to read these actions: endorsement, activism, or pastoral exhortation?
Taken together, the evidence shows both direct and indirect forms of political engagement: direct involvement in a 2016 evangelical‑Trump forum and a 2016 press release announcing a decision about that election [1] [2], and repeated public exhortations to vote values‑first in 2012 and 2024 that are activist in effect but framed as pastoral counsel rather than formal partisan endorsement [3] [4]. Some critics and scholars interpret participation in events like the Huckabee forum as implicit endorsement because such forums function as political legitimation [1], while Jeremiah’s own published messaging often emphasizes nonpartisan language [5] [3].
6. Limitations in the public record and competing narratives
The available sources substantiate notable moments of political engagement but do not provide a comprehensive catalog of every political act Jeremiah may have taken; for example, beyond the cited press release and the 2016 forum, publicly documented signed endorsements of a named candidate in other years are not present in the provided reporting [1] [2] [5] [3] [4]. Observers should weigh both the concrete instances of engagement and the recurring rhetorical frame of “vote values” when assessing whether Jeremiah’s actions constitute partisan endorsements versus pastoral political exhortation.