A US pastor has explained why evangelical Christians haven't withdrawn their support for US President Donald Trump despite his decidedly ungodly behaviour.
It was recently revealed that Mr Trump's long time lawyer Michael Cohen secretly recorded a 2016 conversation in which the then-presidential candidate discussed paying off a former Playboy model who said she'd had an affair with him.
Pastor Robert Jeffress told Fox News that as long as Mr Trump is committed to a conservative political agenda, the country's religious extremists don't care about his divorces or alleged affairs.
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"We've been here before," Pastor Jeffress elaborated. "Back in 1980, evangelicals chose to support a twice-married Hollywood actor who was a known womanizer in Hollywood. His name was Ronald Reagan.
"They chose to support him over Jimmy Carter, with a born-again Baptist Sunday school teacher who had been faithfully married to one woman.
"The reason we supported President Reagan was not because we were supporting womanising or divorce. We supported his policies."
Pastor Jeffress also admitted that as long as Mr Trump continues to appoint conservative judges to the Supreme Court - such as recent pick Brett Kavanaugh - he and other evangelicals will tolerate elements of his personal life they may find unsavoury.
He said that they don't expect politicians to be role models of Christian values, only that they "maintain order and preserve citizens' freedom".
"We believe that sin is sin, but we also believe that all of us, whether it's the President or you or I, can find forgiveness in Jesus Christ."
Pastor Jeffress' comments drew criticism and accusations of hypocrisy on social media. Some said evangelical Christians had no problem with condemning President Bill Clinton's adultery because he was a Democrat.
"They've given up elevating Trump to the lofty picture they have of Reagan and decided it's easier to tear Reagan down to Trump's level," wrote one Twitter user.
"If Jeffress is correct then it means that evangelicals' god is Satan," said another.
Newshub.
