Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, evangelist and leader of the largest Hispanic Christian organization in the world, said his choice for the presidential election is “crystal clear.”
His statement is based on an assessment of the candidates’ stand on issues, particularly religious liberty, the Supreme Court and establishing an atmosphere where the gospel of Jesus can be preached freely.
"I'm not sure what's left to be said,” Rodriguez said in an interview with CBN News. “The party platforms and the candidates' positions are clear. On this issue it's crystal clear."
"The next president will determine whether or not my children, and my children's children will hear the gospel of Jesus Christ preached,” Rodriguez added.
Rodriguez is the president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, which represents over 100 million Hispanic evangelicals from more than 40,000 churches in the U.S. and about 450,000 churches in other Spanish-speaking countries.
Rodriguez met with Christian leaders on Thursday to talk about the coming election and to answer the important question of how a Christian should vote.
While he did not endorse any candidate, Rodriguez did identify a number of issues that the Latin community should look at to see where the candidates stand.
One of these is the issue on immigrants. Republican nominee Donald Trump has made controversial statements regarding immigrants, particularly from Mexico, and said they bring in many problems like drugs and crime.
He said some of them are rapists, and he even went as far as saying the Mexican government intentionally sends its “criminals” to the U.S. His comments made some of his business partners distance themselves from him.
"Donald Trump's rhetoric about immigrants is indefensible," Rodriguez said. However, he also called out the Democratic party’s failure over immigration reform. "The democratic party's failure to address comprehensive immigration reform when they controlled both houses of congress remains indefensible."
He also addressed the issue of abortion. According to him, majority of Hispanics, whether from the evangelical churches or the Catholic church, are pro-life.
"Latinos are pro-life,” Rodriguez said. “Latinos, whether they be Evangelical or Catholic, must never sacrifice truth on the altar of political expediency.”
He expressed satisfaction over Trump’s pro-life stance, although he found the candidate’s immigration comments “questionable.”
Rodriguez said many Hispanics would likely sit out the November election because they can’t decide who to vote. He encouaged the Latino community to go out and vote.
"I think many will stay home for a lack of trust in both parties," he says. "It's always an imperfect choice and everyone now has to make theirs. I am hoping that disillusionment with the presidential race does not keep voters from showing up to vote down ballot."
