Rick Santorum

Then Republican presidential candidate former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum in Iowa in this 2015 file photo.

By Ezra Austin

For The Times of Trenton

PRINCETON -- Traditional American values and virtues have been eroded out of existence, Rick Santorum said in a Princeton University address.

In a lecture and question-and-answer session Tuesday before about 100 people, the former senator from Pennsylvania and presidential candidate elaborated on his views that popular culture, increased secularism, and the legalization of gay marriage have been detrimental to American society.

"The world is changing," he said. "The values and virtues that millions--and I would say the vast majority of Americans--have come to rely on are no longer there."

Santorum said rapidly changing social structures led to the election of President Trump.

"The president is a reflection of America," Santorum said. "The reality is Donald Trump tapped into something that allowed him to win this election, and a lot of it was fear."

Speaking about Trump voters, Santorum said: "They don't know what's next. They don't know how it's going to affect them. What they do see are American families disintegrating."

At the root of America's problem, Santorum argued, is weakening familial institutions. "We need stronger families," he said. "We need men and women to come together to support children that they have."

Santorum also discussed faith as necessary aspect of American life. "I'm talking about the civilizing part of faith, the moral code part of faith that isn't there anymore," he said.

In the audience question portion, a student confronted Santorum on his position against gay marriage.

"I'm here to tell you," the student said, "that I was only at a disadvantage as a child of gay parents because of you and the crusade you helped lead against my family's right to exist."

"Obviously this is very personal to you, and I respect that," Santorum responded. "If we made every decision on any issue based upon one situation, we'd be changing the law every time someone came with a story on how the law hurt them."

Another student asked, "Previously in your lecture, you said the president is a reflection of America. Having run (for president) multiple times and lost multiple times, do you recognize that you might not be seen as a reflection of America?"

"Races aren't just about policies," Santorum replied. "They're about people's perceptions of you."

"I felt like I went out there, I gave it my best, I got a message out there," he said. "So Trump did it better than me. Good for him."

In his closing remarks, Santorum alluded to free speech on college campuses.

"Thank you very much for your attention. You guys were very polite," he said. "The last Ivy League I went to was Cornell, and you would have been ashamed of them."

"This is what should happen on college campuses," he continued. "Hopefully you learned some things, I learned some things. That's good. It's iron sharpening iron."

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