Trumping Liberty

LYNCHBURG, Va.—On a recent morning at Liberty University, loudspeakers mounted above University Boulevard serenaded students with contemporary Christian music as they descended on the Vines Center. On this Wednesday, the thrice-weekly convocation—“convo” in campus lingo—featured Ann Voskamp, a Canadian author who delivered a blistering critique of North American materialism.

“Look at where you spend your money, and you will see what you really believe,” Voskamp urged. “Not-enough-ism is only cured by treasuring Jesus.”

Many students played on their phones as Voskamp spoke, but others listened intently, taking notes or nodding along. Voskamp closed with a flourish, pouring a bottle of water on the stage as she implored students to pour out their lives for Christ.

“Money is always meant to give to others,” she said. “When you love money, you lose Christ.”

Voskamp’s fiery message created buzz on campus—and some irony. It came only two weeks after the school’s president endorsed one of the world’s richest men for president: billionaire Donald Trump. At a South Carolina rally the day after Voskamp’s speech, Trump described his business philosophy to supporters: “Money, money, money, I love money!” He now says, “I want to be greedy for the United States.”

Liberty, the largest Christian university in the world, is bigger and wealthier than ever, but its reputation is facing scrutiny after Jerry Falwell Jr. gave a personal endorsement to Trump in January—even though Trump brags about his adulterous relationships, swears frequently, and says he’s never asked God for forgiveness. “I don’t think it’s been good for Liberty in society,” said sophomore Claire Nance, one of many students and alumni who told me they have to defend the school everywhere they go. “Liberty’s reputation outside campus is very precarious.”

LIBERTY IS NO STRANGER TO CONTROVERSY. Jerry Falwell Sr. founded the school in 1971, aiming to make it for evangelicals what the University of Notre Dame is for Roman Catholics and what Brigham Young University is for Mormons. But Liberty was intertwined with its founder’s political activism. For decades Liberty has hosted not only evangelical icons, such as Elisabeth Elliot and John Piper, but polarizing political figures, from Ronald Reagan to Ted Kennedy.

‘Mr. Trump just doesn’t represent the values of the student and alumni communities.’ —Liberty alumna Kristi Way

During the 1990s, Liberty struggled for survival, sinking more than $100 million into debt. After stabilizing the school, the elder Falwell began growing it in the early 2000s. After he died in 2007, his son assumed the recovery project as president.

Liberty has since grown to include 14,500 residential students, 95,000 online students, 20 NCAA Division I athletic programs, and unprecedented financial success. Academic quality is also improving: In February the prestigious Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education designated Liberty a doctoral university, placing it among the top 335 universities in the country.

“He has a keen business sense,” said Mark DeMoss, a Liberty alumnus and chair of the board’s executive committee, which conducts Jerry Falwell Jr.’s annual performance review. DeMoss said Falwell, a lawyer, has a strong grasp of the inner workings of the university and has grown into the role of public ambassador.

Falwell has shown theological backbone along with his business acumen. In 2014 Falwell demoted the university provost, who had created a problematic, seeming alliance between Liberty and faith healer Benny Hinn’s ministry.

Liberty’s expansion has come with its own controversies: Its explosive online growth has been accompanied by a sharp increase in federal financial aid. Liberty, with its tax-exempt status, has amassed $2 billion in cash reserves.

Politically, Falwell had mostly avoided the skirmishes that dogged his father’s tenure, even while encouraging students to get involved in the political process. After an Obama-era change allowed students to register to vote on their college campuses, so many Liberty students did that the campus subsequently earned its own precinct designation.

In a 2013 interview with WORLD, Falwell indicated he’d learned from his father, who shuttered the Moral Majority in 1989 and the Old Time Gospel Hour in 1992 in order to focus on leading Liberty and preaching at Thomas Road Baptist Church. “Other people are doing the political stuff now,” the younger Falwell said.

That changed on Jan. 26.

ON LIBERTY’S CAMPUS IN EARLY FEBRUARY, there were few reminders of Donald Trump, but instead evidence of what makes Liberty attractive to evangelical parents. Welcome Center parking space signs say, “Future Champion for Christ,” and inside the front door 2 Corinthians 3:17 is mounted overhead: “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.”

Students were friendly and willing to talk about both politics and their personal faith. In the Jerry Falwell Library, a student at one table read her Bible. At another table, two students discussed whether a boyfriend was serious enough about his walk with Christ.

Although Trump’s Jan. 18 visit to Liberty drew some protests (mainly because it occurred, critics thought inappropriately, on Martin Luther King Jr. Day), no students I spoke with objected to the businessman speaking at convo, which he’d done in the past. They did criticize Falwell’s glowing introductory remarks and comparison of Trump to Jerry Falwell Sr., who remains highly regarded by current students, even though he died when many of them were in elementary school. “[Trump] is not like our founder,” Nance, the sophomore, said emphatically.

The tumult had mostly subsided a week later, but then came the Jan. 26 bombshell: Falwell publicly endorsed Trump. The news came as a surprise to all the students I interviewed (and to board member DeMoss): There was no preplanned social media strategy, recruiters didn’t know what to tell prospective students, and alumni relations didn’t have a prepared response for concerned graduates.

“As a student, I would have appreciated a little heads-up,” said senior Vickee Matthews, a former member of student government who learned of the endorsement from a friend in Georgia. “It spread like a rumor.”

The volley of criticism was swift and fierce—and much of it came from within the Liberty family.

“I have great respect for the Falwell family, [but] I’m disappointed he got involved at all and particularly for Mr. Trump,” said alumna Kristi Way, former chief of staff for U.S. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor. “Mr. Trump just doesn’t represent the values of the student and alumni communities.”

In a Washington Post op-ed explaining himself, Falwell said the United States is “very sick financially” and urged Christians to “stop trying to choose the political leaders who we believe are the most godly because, in reality, only God knows people’s hearts.” He likened Trump to the divorced and remarried Ronald Reagan, who “saved this nation when it was in nearly the same condition as it is today.”

Falwell has since become the face of Trump’s evangelical support and a de facto religious ambassador. He traveled on Trump’s private plane to campaign with the business mogul, publicly defended Trump’s decision to skip the Iowa debate, and chided Pope Francis for saying Trump’s rhetoric is un-Christian.

“I think the pope is mistaken. I think John F. Kennedy would be rolling over in his grave right now if he could hear what the pope was saying,” Falwell told CNN. “Jesus never intended to give instructions to political leaders on how to run a country.”

The irony of Jerry Falwell Sr.’s son arguing for less faith in politics wasn’t lost on the political left: “We’re so pleased to hear Jerry Falwell Jr. now supports separation of church and state,” tweeted Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

Ahead of Super Tuesday, Falwell recorded a robocall that ran in multiple states. In it he promoted Trump’s character and assailed what he called Sen. Ted Cruz’s “dirty” campaign tactics against Ben Carson in Iowa.

Falwell declined several WORLD interview requests in January and February, but he’s become a regular on the mainstream media circuit, discussing Trump with CNN, Fox News, The Washington Post, and The New York Times.

“The lines get a little blurry when you’re introduced everywhere as the president of the university,” said board member DeMoss, who noted Falwell’s Twitter account identifies him only as Liberty’s president and chancellor. “I would say it’s not necessarily a board matter, but it could be.”

DeMoss said he suspects mixed board reaction to the presidential endorsement—a line the elder Falwell technically never crossed, even with Ronald Reagan—but the handful of board members he has spoken to had negative responses. In some two dozen interviews spread over four weeks, I found that support for Falwell’s endorsement was mostly limited to fellow Trump supporters.

Author and speaker Alex McFarland, a Liberty alumnus who backs Trump, called the elder Falwell “gutsy” and said the endorsement shows Jerry Jr. has “a little bit of his dad’s moxie.” To the Liberty alumni who are uncomfortable with the endorsement, McFarland had a simple message: “Grow some fortitude.”

With more than 200,000 alumni, the Liberty community retains diverse political views—illustrated by the prominent graduates who have held key positions on top presidential campaigns—and its mission transcends any political endorsement. But at least for now, the mainstream press has distilled Liberty into a Trump talking point, causing some graduates to distance themselves from their beloved alma mater.

“It’s one thing to be hated because of Christ—we expect that,” said alumnus Dean Inserra, pastor of City Church Tallahassee in Florida. “It’s another thing to be hated for your political positions that have nothing to do with the cause of Christ.”

BOTH IN AND OUT OF THE LIBERTY COMMUNITY, speculation has swirled that the university has received financial support from Trump. When I asked Falwell, through his son Trey, to respond to that question, he said he had already addressed the matter publicly (he declined to say where) and would not do so again. Falwell did tweet on Feb. 21 that Trump “promised nothing and gave nothing.”

DeMoss said he couldn’t confirm the university has not received a Trump donation, but he would be surprised if that were the case: “I certainly hope it’s not true. We don’t need the money that badly.”

Money aside, Falwell’s friendship with Trump and a desire to influence a potential U.S. president are easy explanations for the endorsement. Johnnie Moore, Liberty’s former communications vice president, applauded Falwell for maintaining the ability to be “salt and light” to the man who could be next in line for the White House: “Jerry Falwell Jr. will have far more influence in Donald Trump’s life than a lot of evangelicals who were turning against him.”

Many evangelical leaders think denouncing Trump is worth the risk: A group of leading pro-life women—including Liberty alumna Penny Nance, president of Concerned Women for America—released a statement urging Republican voters to support “anybody but Trump.” National Review published an anti-Trump issue, including op-eds from prominent evangelicals Erick Erickson and Russell Moore. CitizenLink, the public policy arm of Focus on the Family, and its state affiliates published an open letter questioning Trump’s commitment to pro-family positions.

With so many evangelicals opposed to Trump, it’s possible the candidate’s association with Liberty could hurt the school with its core constituency in the long run. “I care a lot more about Liberty University than I do about anyone running for president,” DeMoss said. “This endorsement has hurt Liberty’s name and reputation in the Christian public square.”

“That’s a valid concern,” DeMoss said. “I’d like [people] to think Liberty is the greatest Christian university in the world and that it’s equipping people to think critically and succeed in any walk of life.”

Moore predicted the Trump-Liberty narrative would dissipate, but the candidate’s early primary wins and Falwell’s continued public engagement may prolong that process. Since Jan. 26, two-thirds of Falwell’s tweets have been related to Trump (dozens of users, including some students, claim he has blocked them for disagreeing), and he consistently cites the school while promoting the candidate: “I think our country is where Liberty University was 20 years ago,” Falwell told CNN. “We need a professional.”

Increasingly, self-identified evangelicals seem to agree: Voter polling suggests Trump won 21 percent of evangelicals in Iowa, 28 percent in New Hampshire, 34 percent in South Carolina, and 40 percent in Nevada. (Although Trump won Virginia on Super Tuesday, only 8 percent of Republican voters in Liberty’s campus precinct cast their ballots for him.) Following his blowout win in the Nevada primary, Trump praised Falwell as “an unbelievable guy” and partially credited him for his rising evangelical support.

“I love evangelicals,” Trump said at a Las Vegas rally the night the Nevada results came in. “And as you know, Liberty University—do we love Liberty University?”

The crowd roared its approval.