When Donald Trump says that he has no moral concerns about having a gay president (in response to Rush Limbaugh mocking Pete Buttigieg), it’s tantamount to a national emergency for white evangelicals.

But never fear: Right-wing author Michael Brown is here to defend Trump, despite this apparent lapse in moral judgment. In an article for Charisma, Brown wonders if Trump’s comments are a “deal-breaker in terms of our 2020 vote.”

So the racism wasn’t a dealbreaker. Or the mocking of a disabled journalist. Or the kids in cages.

But say something neutral about a gay man, and suddenly he’s the devil. How typical of conservatives.

If anything, Trump’s comments about Buttigieg are among the least offensive things he’s said during his presidency. But whenever there’s an attempt to squash the dignity of gay people, Brown pounces on it like Trump at a beauty pageant.

But Brown separates Trump’s rhetoric from his actions. He can say nice things as long as his policies are cruel.

In short, on a personal level, Trump has no issue with LGBTs and would potentially vote for a gay president. On an administrative level, he is consistently pushing back against their activism and standing up for our religious freedoms and rights. That’s one reason my vote for him in 2016 was justified. And that’s why I believe my 2020 vote for him will be justified as well.

See? As long as Trump remains more than happy to do evangelicals’ bidding, they’ll let mild acceptance of gay people slide. They truly don’t care how hypocritical he is, as long as he follows through on his promise to further harm already marginalized communities and bolster the rights of people who already have a monopoly on American life.

There’s quite literally nothing Trump can do that would prevent large swaths of Republicans from supporting him in 2020. All he has to do is continue dismantling our legal system by nominating unqualified right-wing judges to lifetime appointments on the federal bench.

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