Trump has been the ultimate Christian defender — except on one critical issue

President Donald Trump was elected with strong support from conservative evangelicals like me — and most of us praise God that he has so boldly defended Christianity. He’s turned the tide on unbiblical gender ideologies that led to men playing women’s sports and the mutilation of children’s bodies. He’s affirmed the dignity of unborn children and paved the way for the end of Roe v. Wade. He’s established commissions on religious liberty and anti-Christian bias. And, internationally, he’s taken decisive action to stop the persecution of Christians in places like Nigeria. “I’m saving Christians around the world,” he said recently — and, in large part, he’s telling the truth.There’s one confusing inconsistency in Trump’s defense of Christians, though, and as a stalwart supporter, I fear he may be listening to some bad advice on this theme that could significantly depress evangelical turnout in November.This year, for the first year in at least a quarter-century, not a single Christian refugee has been admitted from the 50 countries where Christians face the most severe persecution in the world. According to a new report from Christian persecution watchdog Open Doors US, as recently as 2024, 29,478 Christian refugees were resettled from the 50 countries on the Open Doors World Watch List, including countries like Afghanistan, Burma, Iran, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. In 2026, not a single Christian refugee from any of these 50 countries has been or is likely to be resettled. IN WAR ON BIBLE, PASTOR CONVICTED FOR PREACHING GOSPELThat’s not, sadly, because the world has become safe for Christians. Christian persecution has increased, such that one in seven Christians globally — roughly 388 million people — is at risk of persecution or discrimination. Nearly 5,000 Christians were murdered last year. More than 3,500 churches were destroyed. And hundreds of thousands were newly forced to flee their homes because of religious persecution. The United States has closed the door just as the need for a refuge offering religious freedom has become more acute than ever.What’s most confusing is that Trump led boldly in this area in his first term. He called other countries to account for their violations of religious liberty. He specifically addressed victims of religious persecution, pledging, “No matter where you go, you have a place in the United States of America.”In setting the annual presidential determination on refugee admissions in 2019, Trump became the first president ever to prioritize resettlement of individuals who “have been persecuted or have a well-founded fear of persecution on account of religion.” Evangelical Christians like me cheered, and the vast majority of us voted to elect Trump in 2020 and 2024.But in this year’s presidential determination on refugees, only one population was prioritized — from a country not facing religious persecution. The effect (perhaps an oversight): Persecuted Christians have been shut out.This is concerning, first and foremost, because it means individuals persecuted for their decision to follow Jesus are languishing in dangerous conditions. But it also presents a potential political problem for Trump and his party, which on so many other issues closely aligns with evangelicals’ values.Republicans need evangelical voters to show up in force for the midterm elections — but Trump’s approval rating among evangelicals has dropped to just 52%, with most saying that the administration’s immigration policies don’t align with their Christian values. That’s definitely not fueled by the president’s successful efforts to secure our borders or deport violent criminals, which almost all evangelicals support. But shutting down legal immigration processes for persecuted Christians is befuddling.A separate poll, from the Southern Baptist Convention’s Lifeway Research, finds that four out of five pastors believe that the U.S. has a moral responsibility to receive refugees; just 2% believe that none should be admitted. The top priority for evangelical pastors, cited by 87% of those surveyed? Christians persecuted for their faith.It’s not too late for the president to override whichever misguided advisers are responsible for this situation. By Oct. 1 — before the midterm elections — the president must set the annual refugee ceiling for 2027. He should do exactly what he did in his first term, setting victims of religious persecution as the top priority for refugee admissions.THE SPIRITUAL SICKNESS BEHIND TRUMP’S BLASPHEMOUS JESUS POST“No administration in modern history has done more to confront the plight of persecuted Christians around the world,” Trump professed at the National Prayer Breakfast in February, highlighting persecuted Christians in the audience to whom the U.S. offered refuge in years past.Now, he has the opportunity to make good on that commitment — and I, and many other evangelical supporters, are praying that he will.Tim Moore is the senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Leander, Texas.