Donald Trump's approval ratings took another battering this week as a Fox News poll showed the president's numbers are continuing to slide in the wake of intra-Republican warring and his handling of several natural disasters, in particular in Puerto Rico.
But even as Trump's approval ratings slide to 38 per cent, down from 42 per cent in September, evangelicals are holding firm in support of their president albeit with signs they are less enthusiastic.
Approval from white evangelicals and white men without a college degree – Trump's key support base – fell to 66 per cent and 56 per cent respectively. The marked drop from his election when Trump won 80 per cent and 71 per cent of their vote is a worrying sign for the White House.
But Johnnie Moore, a key evangelical ally to Trump and a spokesman for many on his nominal evangelical advisory council, came to his aide and praised him as 'competent', 'kind', 'credible' and having 'the best of intentions'.
Asked about Trump's critics in the Republican party including Senators Bob Corker, of Tennessee, and Arizona's Jeff Flake who publicly attacked the president this week, Moore said: 'These leaders are playing politics' as he insisted 'the country is in really good hands'.
On evangelical influence in the White House, he told CBS: 'We have this open door.
'The media went wild and people flipped out when that picture of us praying with the president went viral on the internet. They would have freaked out even more if they knew this wasn't an irregular occasion. This is a normal thing.'
