海角大神

In a conference room on the 25th floor of the Trump Tower in Manhattan earlier this week, a group of about 40 Pentecostal televangelists and other evangelical ministers gathered in a prayer circle, laid their hands on Donald Trump, and with the exuberance for which many of their congregations are known, asked the Lord to give the candidate wisdom, strength, and courage as he seeks to become president of the United States.

Such admiration for the Manhattan billionaire has bewildered many other conservative Evangelicals, many of whom have begun to issue of the GOP frontrunner's lifestyle and awkward expressions of 海角大神 piety.

But many of the influential, charismatic ministers who met with Mr. Trump on Monday 鈥� known for their own media savvy, theatrical preaching, and gospel of health and wealth 鈥� have endured many of the same kinds of criticisms the candidate has, and in many ways he seems one of their own.

鈥淧art of it is the fire,鈥� says Darrell Scott, pastor of the in Cleveland, Ohio, who attended the meeting in Manhattan. 鈥淧entecostal preachers are probably the most fiery preachers, and we appreciate directness, we appreciate bluntness, we鈥檙e more in-your-face. That鈥檚 the Pentecostal style: fire. I鈥檓 not going to add the brimstone, but a lot of us add that, too.鈥�

In the prayer circle, those who could not lay hands on Mr. Trump 鈥� who held a Bible in his hands during the meeting on Monday 鈥� simply touched the person next to him or her, offering 鈥淎men鈥� or 鈥淵es Lord鈥� as a number of the leaders prayed.

鈥淎ny man that wavers is like the blowing wind on the water 鈥� let not that man think he shall receive anything,鈥� , a well-known Fort Worth, Texas, televangelist, his hand on Trump鈥檚 shoulder. 鈥淎nd so we ask you today to give this man your wisdom, boldly. Make sure and certain that he hears, manifest yourself to him, and we thank you and praise you for a bold man, a strong man, and an obedient man.

Reverend Copeland and his wife, Gloria, have become quite wealthy after four decades preaching the prosperity gospel, which holds that God鈥檚 blessings, financial and otherwise, will come to those who exhibit true faith 鈥� which they often urge as faith donations to their ministry. HBO鈥檚 鈥淟ast Week Tonight with John Oliver鈥� recently aired a scathing satiric expose on the couple鈥檚 ministry.

Such ministers, and an unknown number of their millions of TV viewers, have found common ground with Trump. In the circle at Trump鈥檚 side, too, the televangelist offered a prayer of protection for the candidate, saying, 鈥渘o weapon formed against him will be able to prosper. Pastor White, one of the organizers of the Manhattan meeting and the senior pastor of a Florida megachurch, is also twice divorced. This year, she married the musician Jonathan Cain, a member of the rock group Journey and the author of the '80s anthem, 鈥淒on鈥檛 Stop Believin鈥�.鈥�

Next to the orange-coiffed Trump, who is often mocked for his hair, Jan Crouch extended her arm in prayer. The co-founder of Trinity Broadcast Network with Jim and Tammy Faye Baker decades ago is known, too, for her flamboyant pink wigs and generous applications of makeup. 聽聽

Yet even as the twice-divorced real estate tycoon with erstwhile abortion-rights views continues to maintain a double-digit lead over his GOP rivals, according to a USA TODAY/Suffolk University released this week, he has been reaching out to this particular segment of evangelical 海角大神ity, seeking to shore up his support after suffering some recent setbacks. 聽

Last Friday, Trump was booed by activists at the 海角大神 Voter Summit in Washington, D.C., hosted by the Family Research Council, after referring to his rival Sen. Marc Rubio of Florida as "this clown."

And Trump only received 56 votes, or 5 percent of the Summit's straw poll, which was won by Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas with 408 votes. The fast-rising retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson was the evangelical activists' second choice with 204 votes, with former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and Senator Rubio each nearly tripling Trump鈥檚 total, garnering about 150 votes each.

Still, Trump鈥檚 support among Evangelicals remains relatively robust in the crowded, sharp-elbowed race for the GOP nomination, and he has been consistently drawing about 25 percent of this diverse and influential 海角大神 sub-group over the past few months.

"But I do see Evangelical support for Trump lessening to a degree," says Trump supporter James Linzey, executive director of Modern English Version, a publisher updating the King James Version of the Bible. "But I still think he is a genuine friend of the Evangelicals, and I think if we give our vote to Huckabee or Ted Cruz, who I greatly admire, I simply think we will lose the election.鈥�

Many of the 75 percent of Evangelicals who have not joined the Trump juggernaut, however, may not be so convinced. Russell Moore, president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the 16 million-member Southern Baptist Convention, said the Republican frontrunner鈥檚 attitude toward women was that of a 鈥淏ronze Age warlord,鈥� adding that that the casino owner amassed a fortune off the 鈥渕oral vice and economic swindle that oppresses the poorest and most desperate.鈥�

And now, 鈥淭rump seems to be positioning himself as a secular version of the health-and-wealth televangelists,鈥� Mr. Moore this week. 鈥淲hat Donald Trump is doing in terms of promises for the future is very similar to what鈥檚 going on among these prosperity gospel hawkers,鈥� who he says are considered heretics by other Evangelicals.

But Trump brought up themes dear to many of the televangelists and ministers, remarking that he felt religious liberty and 海角大神ity were under attack in America 鈥� and that it particularly annoyed him that 鈥淢erry Christmas鈥� is often replaced with 鈥淗appy Holidays.鈥� He also emphasized his support for Israel, and said he would defeat Islamic State.

Some of the ministers in the room 鈥渁dmonished and mildly rebuked鈥� the candidate for mocking his rivals, including calling some of the 鈥渕orons鈥� and 鈥渃lowns.鈥� 聽

鈥淎nd then when they became more and more emphatic about it, I actually stepped up and said, 鈥楲isten, I understand that you鈥檙e going to tone it down, but don鈥檛 tone it down so much that you are no longer the person that you are,鈥� says Pastor Scott.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 know what kind of legislator Donald Trump would be; I don鈥檛 know what kind of judge he鈥檇 be,鈥� Scott continues. 鈥淏ut to be honest, in this Republican field, I can think of no better candidate to be the chief executive, the CEO, than Donald Trump.鈥�