The flagship magazine of evangelical Christianity in America called for President Trump’s removal from office Thursday evening.

Christianity Today, which was founded by the Rev. Billy Graham, published a column written by editor Mark Galli under the headline “Trump Should Be Removed from Office.”

While acknowledging that “the Democrats have had it out for him from day one, and therefore nearly everything they do is under a cloud of partisan suspicion,” Mr. Galli, speaking for the magazine, said those clouds and that animus are no longer enough to grant Mr. Trump the benefit of the doubt because of his good policies on such matters as abortion, religious liberty and federal judgeships.

“But the facts in this instance are unambiguous: The president of the United States attempted to use his political power to coerce a foreign leader to harass and discredit one of the president’s political opponents. That is not only a violation of the Constitution; more importantly, it is profoundly immoral,” the magazine proclaimed one day after the House voted to impeach Mr. Trump on charges of obstruction of Congress and abuse of power.

“This president has dumbed down the idea of morality in his administration. He has hired and fired a number of people who are now convicted criminals. He himself has admitted to immoral actions in business and his relationship with women, about which he remains proud. His Twitter feed alone — with its habitual string of mischaracterizations, lies, and slanders — is a near perfect example of a human being who is morally lost and confused … The impeachment hearings have illuminated the president’s moral deficiencies for all to see. This damages the institution of the presidency, damages the reputation of our country, and damages both the spirit and the future of our people. None of the president’s positives can balance the moral and political danger we face under a leader of such grossly immoral character,” Christianity Today wrote.

Evangelical Christians, especially white evangelicals, have been Mr. Trump’s most loyal supporters and the call for his removal by such an eminent evangelical source came as a major surprise.

Billy Graham’s son, Franklin, now heads his father’s ministries and has been one of Mr. Trump’s most outspoken and staunchest supporters.

But the magazine made explicit that it was concerned about the death of outrage and moral rectitude, and the analogy with President Bill Clinton and his adulterous affair with a White House intern and his consequent lying and obstruction of justice.

“It’s time to say what we said 20 years ago when a president’s character was revealed for what it was,” the magazine wrote in a subhead.

The magazine said it was agnostic about “whether Mr. Trump should be removed from office by the Senate or by popular vote next election,” calling that “a matter of prudential judgment.”

But, the magazine argued, his removal is now a Godly demand.

“That he should be removed, we believe, is not a matter of partisan loyalties but loyalty to the Creator of the Ten Commandments. To the many evangelicals who continue to support Mr. Trump in spite of his blackened moral record, we might say this: Remember who you are and whom you serve,” Christianity Today wrote.

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