Christianity Today CEO Tim DalrympleAs you now know, earlier today Christianity Today called for the removal of Donald Trump. Sarah Pulliam Bailey of the Washington Post, a former Christianity Today reporter, conducted interviews with CT editor Mark Galli and CT CEO Timothy Dalrymple.
Here is a taste of her piece:
Galli said that under his watch, the magazine has received criticism from some who wanted it to be more outspoken against the president. He said initially he thought criticisms of the president were “too panicky and fearful” and that it took him some time to decide to draw a line in the sand.
“I bend over backwards to be charitable and patient with people, including people who support Trump,” he said. “I probably went too far on that.”
The editorial said that the Ukraine-focused impeachment hearings “have made it absolutely clear, in a way the Mueller investigation did not” that Trump had abused his office. Galli said in an interview that he decided Thursday morning, hours after the late-night impeachment vote in the House of Representatives, to write about why he thinks the president should be removed.
“I was hoping I wouldn’t have to do another editorial like this. I hate doing editorials like this,” he said. “People are going to say mean, nasty things and say how much they hate me or hate the magazine, and I don’t like that.”
Christianity Today magazine has published some pieces in the past that were critical of Trump, including a piece by former editor Andy Crouch just before the election. In July, the president of Christianity Today, Timothy Dalrymple, wrote a piece calling out the silence among Christians in relation to Trump and racism.
“On the other hand, I sense a profound frustration among non-white Christian friends that their white brethren keep silent as the president aims ugly and demeaning statements at people of color,” Dalrymple wrote. “These friends don’t like what the silence of the white church is saying, and neither do we.”
Dalrymple reviewed Galli’s editorial before it was published. “We write according to our sense of conscience and calling,” he said in an interview. “We trust that subscribers and audience are in God’s hands.”
Read the entire piece here.
