Pastor Who Left Evangelical Board Explains His ‘Problem’ With Trump’s ‘Lack of Leadership’

With CEOs flocking from President Trump‘s economic advisory councils, one pastor announced on Twitter that he is stepping down from the President’s Evangelical Advisory Board.  Yesterday,  Pastor A.R. Bernard tweeted that he was leaving that council amid growing criticism that Trump’s Evangelical advisers were sticking by him as CEOs were jumping ship.

Bernard appeared last night with CNN’s Don Lemon to
explain the reasoning behind his stepping downm and provided some
significant criticism for what he deemed to be the president’s “lack of
leadership” A rough transcript of Bernard’s reasoning:

I think that as time
progressed, you look for change. You look for consistency. You look for
responsibility in leadership. And I didn’t see consistency in a set of
core values that influence and shaped his thinking. And when he
vacillated over the last week, especially over Charlottesville, I had
come to the point where I had to make a decision to more than just step
away.

I had to fully disengage myself. You know,
when you vacillate like that, it means that there’s not a set of core
values that you have determined to guide your thinking, your
decision-making. Instead, it demonstrates that you are being tossed
between opinions of those around you. And I’ve got a problem with that
kind of lack of leadership.

Lemon asked Bernard if he had spoken to anyone at the White House and
seemed somewhat surprised to learn that the Advisory Board was largely
ceremonial.

Bernard
explained “you’ve got to understand the board, which was a significant
number of individuals, was not afforded the proximity to the president
to give the kind of necessary influence that all of this called for.”  
Lemon
replied “But if you’re part of an advisory board, isn’t that part of…”
to which Bernard explained “Well, it should be that way. It should be
that way. It should have teeth. It should be more than a photo op. It
should be substantive.”

About Author

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *