In Thousand Oaks, Charlie Kirk's pastor sees God's hand in Trump's win

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

78% : "Trump is brilliant at just picking up on this and marketing it and branding it for his own political purposes," he said.
67% : McCoy said that with Trump returning to the White House, he sees a golden era for his efforts and those of TPUSA Faith to "remove wokeness" -- including diversity initiatives and critical race theory -- from the American church.
59% : "Trump's got iconic hair and a propensity for women.
55% : "God saved us," McCoy told his congregants in his first sermon after Trump won.
55% : And, of course, Kirk.Kirk, a millionaire known for his memes and college campus tours meant to "own the libs," has credited McCoy for persuading him to meld his right-wing politics, nationalism and evangelical faith.
55% : Trump -- who, polls show, won the support of 8 in 10 white evangelical voters in this election -- is one of many Republican politicians who have courted evangelicals.
54% : "McCoy, a vaccine skeptic who has been senior pastor at Godspeak for 25 years, told The Times he considers Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the anti-vaccine activist whom Trump has chosen to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, "a good friend."
53% : "Trump has allowed him to do that, given him space to do it.
53% : "McCoy, like pastors on both sides of the political aisle, openly flouts the Johnson Amendment, a 1954 law that bars tax-exempt organizations from participating in political campaigns and endorsing candidates.
50% : After Trump tapped former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz for attorney general, Kirk posted a video to X from the passenger seat of a vehicle.
49% : He said Trump appears to be "searching" and growing in his own faith, but that he has been successful in each of the seven pillars and that God appears to be working through him.
47% : But Trump, more than most others, has cast himself as a divinely chosen and wrongly persecuted protector of Christians, telling his supporters that he's "standing between you and the secular left that is out to get you," said Barry Hankins, a history professor at Baylor University who has written books about evangelicalism.
38% : He sees in Trump a man persecuted by the left, who, while "flawed like the rest of us," was chosen by God to lead a sinful nation that, in his opinion, allows too many abortions and is too accepting of transgender rights.
37% : Kirk, the 31-year-old conservative firebrand, rallied his millions of online followers to support Trump, prompting conservative podcast host Megyn Kelly to say, "It's not an understatement to say that this man is responsible for helping the Republicans win back the White House and the U.S. Senate.
30% : (Trump has said he wants to "totally destroy" the Johnson Amendment, which would require an act of Congress.)
30% : "As for restricting abortion, Trump -- who has vacillated on the issue -- is not exactly where the pastor would like him to be, but "has done more for the life movement than any other president in modern history, period," McCoy said.
21% : "He likens Trump to Samson, a flawed biblical figure who was used by God for a greater purpose.
21% : Days before the election, McCoy had preached that if Trump lost "life is going to take on catastrophic conditions" because of the evil espoused by the left.

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