The evangelical world was somewhat shocked to see Wayne Grudem endorse Donald Trump as the “morally good choice” in this presidential election. In an even more shocking move, however, Grudem has withdrawn that support. His original endorsement, which was posted at our sister site, Townhall, has been taken down and replaced with this one.

There is no morally good presidential candidate in this election. I previously called Donald Trump a “good candidate with flaws” and a “flawed candidate” but I now regret that I did not more strongly condemn his moral character. I cannot commend Trump’s moral character, and I strongly urge him to withdraw from the election.

His vulgar comments in 2005 about his sexual aggression and assaults against women were morally evil and revealed pride in conduct that violates God’s command, “You shall not commit adultery” (Exodus 20:14). I have now read transcripts of some of his obscene interviews with Howard Stern, and they turned my stomach. His conduct was hateful in God’s eyes and I urge him to repent and call out to God for forgiveness, and to seek forgiveness from those he harmed. God intends that men honor and respect women, not abuse them as sexual objects.

Grudem now joins the ranks of Russell Moore and Al Mohler in opposing Donald Trump. Their opposition to Trump, however, does not mean that they support Hillary. As Gruden states in his column:

Hillary Clinton is no better. She vilified the victims of Bill Clinton’s sexual advances; she abandoned our diplomats to be killed by terrorists in Benghazi and then lied about it; she illegally handled classified emails on her private server and put national security at risk; she left much of the world in chaos after four years as Secretary of State; and she has a lifelong pattern of acting as if she is above the law, protected by the Obama administration’s Justice Department, the FBI, and the mainstream media.

Grudem is exactly right, and it’s a refreshing thing to see evangelical leaders reassessing the situation. I hope his change of heart will have an effect on many, many other religious leaders around the country who have firmly sided with Trump.