A prominent evangelical Christian magazine surprised many — including the president — when it called on its readers Thursday to support the impeachment ofDonald Trump.

In an op-ed,Christianity Todayeditor-in-chief Mark Galli asked its evangelical readers who still support Trump to “remember who you are and whom you serve.”

“The president of the United States attempted to use his political power to coerce a foreign leader to harass and discredit one of the president’s political opponents,” wrote Galli. “That is not only a violation of the Constitution; more importantly, it is profoundly immoral.”

President Trump will face a trial in the Senate, where a Republican majority is expected to acquit him of his impeachment charges.

No president has ever been removed from office via impeachment. Both former President Bill Clinton and President Andrew Johnson were acquitted in their Senate trials.

Trump was outraged on Twitter on Friday morning, callingChristianity Todaya “far-left” magazine.

“No President has done more for the Evangelical community, and it’s not even close, You’ll not get anything from those Dems on stage. I won’t be reading ET again!” Trumptweeted, seemingly confusing the name of the publication in the latter half of his tweet.

Christianity Todaylargely keeps a more centrist political stance while, in Galli’s words, “the typicalCTapproach is to stay above the fray” and let readers decide political opinions for themselves.

But that changed during the impeachment investigation, the magazine’s editor-in-chief said.

“We believe the impeachment hearings have made it absolutely clear, in a way the Mueller investigation did not, that President Trump has abused his authority for personal gain and betrayed his constitutional oath,” Galli wrote on Thursday. “The impeachment hearings have illuminated the president’s moral deficiencies for all to see. This damages the institution of the presidency, damages the reputation of our country, and damages both the spirit and the future of our people.”

Areported81 percent of evangelical Christians voted for Trump in the 2016 election, according to Pew Research Center.

Thursday’s editorial calling for impeachment support showed a shift in the conservative religious base that helped elect the Republican president.

“To use an old cliché, it’s time to call a spade a spade, to say that no matter how many hands we win in this political poker game, we are playing with a stacked deck of gross immorality and ethical incompetence,” Galli wrote. “And just when we think it’s time to push all our chips to the center of the table, that’s when the whole game will come crashing down. It will crash down on the reputation of evangelical religion and on the world’s understanding of the gospel. And it will come crashing down on a nation of men and women whose welfare is also our concern.”

source: people.com