in 2016 and largely stuck by him again in 2020.

In his new book, Tim Alberta# sought to find out why,## when that support is largely inconsistent with# basic Christian values.

He appr as a journalist and as a practicing# Christian.

Tim's father was a pastor,## and he says the evangelical church was his# home, which offered an up-close look at the## ways in which GOP politics are transforming# and fracturing the evangelical church.

The book is titled "The Kingdom,## the Power, and the Glory: I asked Tim about a searing# moment he describes, when,## at his own father's funeral, a church# elder admonished him for not embracing Donald Trump as God's chosen leader.

TIM ALBERTA, Author, "The Kingdom, the Power,## and the Glory: American Evangelicals in# an Age of Extremism": Well, I think just## once I was able to process it, because my father -- you're in this state of mourning# and of shock, and not sure, is this even real?

And then you're reading this.

And I think# what it revealed more than anything, Geoff,## was just this epiphany of, boy, if I, the# son of the senior pastor who was here for## 25 years leading this congregation, if# I, who grew up here -- these people have## known me since I was 5 years old# -- if I could be treated this way,## if I could be regarded as a member of the deep# state, as an enemy of the church, as an ap if I could be treated that way, then how# are we treating those outside the church?

How are we engaging with the culture, whom# we are called as Christians to evangelize?

GEOFF BENNETT: Well, what is it about Donald Trump# that has completely transformed and reconditioned## the white evangelical expectation of# what a political leader should be?

I will tell you, in my own reporting, I have# talked to evangelical Trump supporters who## have compared him to consequential# biblical figures like David, Cyrus,## Solomon to make the point that# he is someone, in their view,## who can effect God's will without having to# manifest any Christian values wh TIM ALBERTA: Yes, yes.

And I have heard the same.

And it's interesting.

Obviously, w campaign for president, he was mocked widely# by evangelicals when he made his famous 2## Corinthians gaffe when he was speaking at Liberty# University at the beginning of 2016.

It was## pounced on by a lot of leading evangelicals# who are now some of his staunchest allies.

And you ask yourself, well, how did he go from# being a figure of suspicion and an outsider,## and somebody who was almost a punchline# to being a champion for these people?

And I think much of the answer to that, Geoff, is# rooted in what you are describing.

You said white## evangelical.

And I think it's important# to sort of hone in on this idea that,## for the white Christian in America, they are now# losing status in ways that they have never seen## before, that, if you look, just statistically and# demographically, 50 years ago, during the heyday## of the Moral Majority, this was fundamentally# a different country then than it is today.

We are looking at decades-long downward# trajectories in terms of the white percentage## of the country, the percentage of the# country that identifies as Christian,## that identifies as churchgoing.# And there is a sense of impending## doom for a lot of these people, that# the government is coming for them,## that Christianity is in the crosshairs,# and that we need to fight back.

And, in some sense, it takes someone like Donald# Trump, who's not a Christian.

no t a Christian, he's not beholden to Christian# values, and, therefore, it makes him almost this## mercenary who's willing to fight on behalf of# this beleaguered population who feels under## siege, and they have turned to someone like# Donald Trump to do the dirty work for them.

GEOFF BENNETT: Is that where# Christian nationalism comes in,## this belief that America is somehow# in a uniqu What do Christian nationalists want# that is different from the George## W. Bush era Christian engagement with politics?

TIM ALBERTA: Yes, it's a great question.

I think, in many w nation that we inherited from the founders,# that it was an explicitly Christian nation,## not just a nation informed by Judeo-Christian# principles and values, but explicitly formed## to be a Christian nation, that that has to# be recovered, that it has to be restored.

And we are talking in some sense here about the# T-word, theocracy.

I mean, there are people in## this movement, and, I would add, people who hold# real power and influence in the Republican Party,## people who are close to former President Donald# Trump, who would certainly be advising him in a## second term, who have no qualms talking about# the idea of essentially demolishing the wall## between church and state and attempting to, if# not introduce Christianity as state religion in a## concrete, official, formal way, at the very least# to promote Christianity as state religion in ways.

You just heard Donald Trump a couple of weeks# ago on the campaign trail say, he's thinking## about not letting any more non-Christian migrants# into the country, no Jews, no Muslim no atheists.

If you're going to come to# the U.S. now, you need to be a Christian.

And that is, I think very explicitly,# some of the ways in which these folks## are thinking about how they recover# the America that they once knew.

GEOFF BENNETT: So, when Donald Trump says# he wouldn't be a dictator if reelected, except for day one, what he said# earlier this week in that televised# town hall with Sean Hannity, what# do his evangelical supporters he TIM ALBERTA: It's another great question, I mean,## and you're right, because# th I think what Trump is speaking to here is a# persecution comp when he talks about how the Christian# church is under siege and so is he,## when he talks to these evangelical# supporters of his and says, really,## they, the deep state, the liberals, the# secularists, they're coming after you,## but first they have to get through me, and# that's why I'm being charged with all these## indictments.

That's why they're trying to# take me down, is so that they can get to you.

So when he pitches himself as a strongman, as# a would-be authoritarian, I think in many ways## what these people hear is, well, desperate# times call for desperate measures, right?

In other words -- and there's some# polling to back this up.

There's some## pretty good social science just the last# coup for many white conservative evangelicals# who are supportive of Trump, they w gladly embrace a sort of lurch toward# authoritarianism if it meant preserving## what they see as a Christian America, rather# than lose in a liberal democratic fashion.

For a lot of his supporters in that base, they're# hearing it and saying, good, it's about time.

GEOFF BENNETT: What does# this all mean for the church?

TIM ALBERTA: The secular public used to have And now they have a very negative view,# and that creates a barrier to entry into## the church for those of us who are trying# to reach out to bring people in and try to## tell them about the love of God, and# it's become very difficult to do so.

GEOFF BENNETT: The book is "The# Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory:## American Evangelicals in an Age of# Extremism."

It Tim, thanks again for coming in, and# congratulations on this extraordinary book.

TIM ALBERTA: Thank you so much for having me.