Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr. said President Trump doesn’t need to apologize for his behavior, because “everyone knows his past.”
The Trump ally responded Wednesday to the multiple women who claim the president had extramarital affairs with them more than a decade ago.
“I don’t think he needs to come forward. I think everyone knows his past,” Falwell told CNN’s Erin Burnett. “I’m one of the 85 percent or so of evangelicals who supported him. We knew about his past as a real estate mogul, as sort of a playboy, as the owner of a beauty pageant, and we supported him for one reason: because of his position on the issues.”
Burnett pointed out that another prominent evangelical, Bob Vander Plaats, said that if the allegations against Trump were true, he should publicly apologize for his actions and to his wife Melania Trump.
“Not all evangelicals agree. Evangelicals are diverse in their opinions, and I respect his opinion. I just don’t happen to agree with it,” Falwell said in response. “And I believe what Jesus said, “’Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.’”
“We’re all sinners, nobody understands that better than Evangelicals…we believe we all need forgiveness.” – Evangelical Jerry Falwell Jr. details his stance on supporting President Trump’s politics despite alleged affairs https://t.co/2UcYlI9Vg5 pic.twitter.com/lhDesfhvtL
— OutFrontCNN (@OutFrontCNN) March 29, 2018
Falwell also pointed out that after the infamous “Access Hollywood” tape was released shortly before the 2016 election, which featured Trump discussing grabbing women by their genitalia without their consent, Falwell was one of the first to say he believed Trump had changed since the tape was recorded in 2005.
Falwell said that he still believes Trump has had a change of heart since the audio was recorded.
“I think he’s changed in a positive way,” Falwell said.
Falwell’s comments come as adult film star Stormy Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, has ramped up a legal battle against Trump and his personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, over a nondisclosure agreement she signed in 2016 to stay silent about her alleged affair with Trump in 2006. She also opened up about her alleged sexual encounter with Trump in a “60 Minutes” interview that aired Sunday evening.
Additionally, former Playboy model Karen McDougal, who claims she had a sexual relationship with Trump from 2006 to 2007, has sued American Media Inc., the National Enquirer’s parent company, in an effort to be released from a 2016 legal agreement that requires her to remain silent about the relationship. American Media Inc. paid her $150,000 for exclusive rights to the story, but it was never published.
Through spokespeople, Trump has denied having affairs with these women.
