Here’s Robert Jeff ress, talking to the hundreds of thousands of people watch-
ing conservative cable news on a typical Friday evening, and he’s defending
President Donald Trump against the latest array of accusations in the news
this week. And he isn’t simply defending Trump—he’s defending him with one
carefully crafted Bible-wrapped barb after another, and with more passion,
more preparation, more devotion than anyone else on television.
As Lou Dobbs fi nishes his opening remarks , Jeff ress laughs and nods. It’s ear-
ly January, about two weeks into what will prove to be the longest government
shutdown in U.S. history. Across the country, hundreds of thousands of federal
workers are missing paychecks, worrying about mortgages, car payments, util-
ity bills. Some have started going to food banks. But Dobbs waves his hand up
and down and tells Jeff ress that he hasn’t heard anyone—“literally no one!”—
say they miss the government. The jowly host revels in Trump’s threats that
the shutdown could continue “for months, if not years,” if that’s what it takes
to get more wall built on America’s border with Mexico.
Jeff ress, speaking from a remote studio in downtown Dallas, agrees com-
pletely. “Well, he’s doing exactly the right thing in keeping this government
shut down until he gets that wall,” he says.
Jeff ress is the senior pastor at First Baptist Dallas, a 13,000-member mega-church that’s one of the most influ-
ential in the country, but he’s known
best for appearances like this one: he’s
often on Fox & Friends or Hannity or
any number of sound-bitey segments
on Fox News or Fox Business. His own
religious show airs six days a week on
the Trinity Broadcasting Network. He
has a daily radio program too, broad-
cast on more than nine hundred Chris-
tian stations across the country, though
it’s TV he loves best. Dobbs invites Jef-
fress onto his show nearly every week.
Jeff ress continues. He cites the Old
Testament tale of Nehemiah, who was
inspired by God to rebuild the walls of
Jerusalem. “The Bible says even heav-
en itself is gonna have a wall around it,”
Jeff ress adds. “Not everyone is gonna
be allowed in.”
It’s not clear whether Dobbs buys
this theological reasoning, but he’s at
least amused by it. “What would be
the point of those pearly gates if there
weren’t a wall, right?” the host says
with a Cheshire grin.
The pastor keeps going. “What is
immoral,” he says, “is for Democrats
to continue to try to block this presi-
dent from performing his God-given
task of protecting this nation.”
The 63-year-old Jeff ress is trim and
winsome, with a natural smile and a
syrupy demeanor. Tonight he’s wearing
a charcoal suit and a gleaming magenta
tie with matching pocket square. As he
speaks, the screen behind him shows
generic patriotic imagery. He has the
syntax and enunciation of a champion
debater and the certitude of someone
who believes he gets his instructions
directly from God.
He is known for leaning into con-
troversy, whether it’s declaring that
Mormonism is “a heresy from the pit
of hell” (which resulted in an extend-
ed public beef with Mitt Romney) or“I HAVE BECOME ALL THINGS TO ALL PEOPLE SO
THAT BY ALL POSSIBLE MEANS I MIGHT SAVE SOME.”
—1 Corinthians 9:22H
TVSEGMENT:^ LOUIS^ DELUCA/THE^ DALLASMORNINGNEWS;^ FREEDOMRALLY:^ OLIVIER^DOULIERY-POOL/GETTY^IMAGES;^ CHURCH:^ PAUL^ CHRISTOPHER/COURTESY^ OF^ FIRST^ BAPTISTDALLAS72 TEXAS MONTHLY