Last week, Liberty University president and Moral Majority scion Jerry Falwell Jr. embraced campus opposition to his support for Donald Trump after the release of a lewd videotape and allegations of sexual assault against the candidate. But Falwell has since reportedly silenced one student seeking to speak out against Trump’s lewd remarks—while some university trustees have been told to keep quiet altogether.
THE WEEKLY STANDARD contacted more than 20 Liberty trustees for their thoughts on Falwell’s endorsement of Trump. Most of the calls and emails to board members were met with polite refusals to comment, abrupt hang-ups, or no response. A secretary for one trustee said that they had been instructed to refer such inquiries to the university, and that “they’re not to talk to anyone about the college.”
A statement from the university confirmed that information, after TWS inquired whether trustees had been advised not to discuss their private opinions with reporters. “Trustees are obliged to keep certain Board business confidential,” the spokesperson said. “The President determines who will be spokespersons for Liberty University.”
Only two trustees provided comment to TWS, and both voiced strong support for Falwell and his embrace of Donald Trump.
“Nothing that Jerry Falwell Jr. has said or done … brings shame on Liberty University,” Duke Westover, a former executive assistant to Falwell’s father (who founded Liberty), told TWS.
“As far as things that happened 30 years ago or 10 years ago, that [Trump has] said—nobody has proven that he did anything and nobody believes that he did anything—it’s all what he said,” he continued, “one thing that always rings true is that God is a forgiver of sins.”
Westover said that he was “appalled” by Trump’s vulgar remarks, but that they had “nothing to do” with who should be president.
Another trustee, Pastor Don Crain, called Trump’s comments “deplorable” but said that the businessman has “asked for forgiveness” and is a changed man. “He’s a different man than he was eleven years ago,” he told TWS.
Crain said he was certain that Falwell’s endorsement would not impact Liberty negatively, and said it was “his own decision.”
Trustees appear especially tight-lipped after an incident earlier this year, when the chairman of the executive committee—who for years served as chief of staff to Jerry Falwell Sr.—spoke out against the younger Falwell’s support for Trump and was subsequently asked to resign from his post.
Mark DeMoss made his objections known in a March interview with the Washington Post, and this week told TWS that he had kept silent for weeks prior, as Liberty University students and staff flooded him with worried calls and emails.
“Virtually every day I was hearing from alumni, and students, and donors, and faculty, and staff, who were very concerned and upset abut this endorsement and how they felt it reflected on the university,” DeMoss said.
He told TWS that the concern persists today, and guessed that the majority of trustees were not on board with Falwell’s fervent embrace of Trump, despite their public silence.
“I would think most of them would be uncomfortable,” he said. “Most of these board members were friends and colleagues of Jerry Falwell Sr., and were friends of his when he was building the Moral Majority and speaking around the country about the importance of moral character.”
He suspected that the release of the lewd recording had made matters worse.
“It would be inconceivable to me that any trustee of Liberty University could feel good about Donald Trump or about any association, direct or indirect, between Liberty University and Donald Trump, after the release of this video tape,” DeMoss said. “What they do about it is another issue altogether.”
