Sheldon, Iowa — A Sheldon native who heads an Evangelical Christian group was part of a contingent that met with presumptive Republican Presidential nominee Donald Trump.
Bob Vander Plaats, President of The Family Leader, was part of a small group reception and a large group meeting with Trump earlier this week. Vander Plaats says it was “encouraging” to see more than a thousand “faith leaders” from across the country show up for the meeting with Trump.
It was a private meeting and Vander Plaats says Trump provided “clarity” on the defense of religious liberty and assurances he would appoint “conservative, constitutional justices” to the Supreme Court.
Trump and Vander Plaats met, one-on-one, in Trump’s New York City office in May.
But Vander Plaats says he’s not yet ready to say he’s supporting Trump’s candidacy. Vander Plaats will be one of the Iowa G-O-P’s delegates at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland. He was invited to be on a recent conference call to plot strategy for having the party nominate someone OTHER than Trump in Cleveland, but Vander Plaats declined.
Vander Plaats endorsed Texas Senator Ted Cruz before the Iowa Caucuses. This week he asked the Evangelical Christians who are part of The Family Leader network to “think bigger” and pray for “cultural transformation” rather than get “too caught up in the 2016 election.”
