I also remember the reluctant trepidation with which Trump was received by many Dordt constituents, including prominent College Republicans who felt a duty to host the event because Dordt had made a blanket promise of welcome to all presidential candidates that year. As one of the curious observers of the event myself, I remember well how much of that crowd was sprinkled with devoted Trump followers from outside of Sioux County and even Iowa. Du Mez describes how she looked in vain for the hallmarks of the Sioux County she knew in the crowd response to Trump that day. It is not just that Trump has garnered such support, but the irony of who those supporters are. It’s like incredible.” 1ĭu Mez and other longtime participant observers of American evangelicalism agreed with Trump on one thing: it was-and is-incredible. Haan auditorium and bombastically proclaimed, “They say I have the most loyal people-did you ever see that? Where I could stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn’t lose any voters.
An alumna of Dordt College and raised in Sioux County, Du Mez watched with fascinated horror on Januas presidential candidate Donald J. Kristin Kobes Du Mez’s Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted A Faith and Fractured A Nation begins on sacred ground for all daughters and sons of Dordt University. Title: Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation