Sarah Posner: Bottom line: they know that Trump is hedging to dupe fence-sitting voters. They trust that it will all work out for them if he's president again, which is preferable to them to having Biden reelected. They know he is committed to the Christian right's agenda. Full stop. 6/x

I just read a bunch of Christian right news outlets' and advocacy groups' coverage of this week's abortion news, including Trump's video, his tarmac answer in Atlanta, and the AZ Supreme Court decision. Thoughts: 🧵1/x

First, they are over the moon about the Arizona Supreme Court decision. This leaves no doubt that this type of ban is the lodestar for future bans. In other words, total, draconian bans, no exceptions. 2/x

Second, they are furious at Kari Lake for hinting (out of electoral panic) that she opposes the AZ Supreme Court decision. Basically dropping her like a hot potato (although, still, it's not like they're going to vote for or urge followers to vote for Gallego.) But Lake is under pressure. 3/x

Third, are they mad at Trump for saying leave it to the states, or for saying (supposedly) that he wouldn't sign a national ban into law? Wait for it... No. 4/x

Trump gets a lot of slack, because he's Trump, but also because the trust in him having their backs is pretty well-entrenched. And, to summarize... they recognize he might need to hedge in a national election + voting for the baby-killing Biden is unacceptable. 5/x

Bottom line: they know that Trump is hedging to dupe fence-sitting voters. They trust that it will all work out for them if he's president again, which is preferable to them to having Biden reelected. They know he is committed to the Christian right's agenda. Full stop. 6/x

And if you're wondering, as some repliers have here, whether Trump doesn't need to satisfy the anti-abortion base in a second term because he won't have a third term, remember this: he's not thinking about a second term as his final one, but even more... 7/x

White evangelicals back his stolen election lies more than any other religious demographic. He's going to count on them to back any "stop the steal" redux. 8/x revealnews.org/article/how-....

How the Christian right helped foment insurrection - Revealrevealnews.org Christian-right activists inside and outside of government promoted the election fraud lie and claimed God told them to “let the church roar.”

The Christian right saved him from impeachment the last time. He's counting on that again. 9/x www.huffpost.com/entry/white-...

The Army Of Prayer Warriors Fighting Trump's Impeachmentwww.huffpost.com As the Senate takes up his impeachment trial, white Christian evangelicals remain firmly in the president's corner.

It's not possible to understand where Trump stands on abortion (to the extent that he actually stands for anything) without understanding how he functions within this environment. Don't parse his words. Read the room. 10/10

I'm curious how much longer the FR can go as an extreme, unpopular movement, riding on gerrymanders, packed courts, etc. They've been headed for authoritarianism to avoid a democratic reckoning. Feels like we're on a knifes edge between them collapsing unless they get Trump in and solidify power.

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