Jerry Falwell Jr.'s fatal miscalculation

 https://edition.cnn.com/2020/08/30/us/jerry-falwell-jr-downfall/index.html

 Fallwell Jr., whose tenure as president and chancellor of Liberty University crashed to an inglorious end this week, always seemed closer in spirit to his defiant, bootlegging grandfather than his Bible-thumping namesake.

 Each time, Falwell would insist he is not a moral leader. His job was to grow Liberty's endowment, campus and student body. 

 "I have never been a minister," he told one critic on Twitter, pointing to his background as a lawyer and real estate developer.

"The faculty, students and campus pastor ... are the ones who keep LU strong spiritually as the best Christian univ in the world," he added. "While I am proud to be a conservative Christian, my job is to keep LU successful academically, financially and in athletics."

 

The spotlight on Falwell Jr. intensified when he became one of the first prominent evangelicals to back Trump in early 2016, surprising fellow Christian conservatives.

During a Trump campaign visit to Liberty, Falwell glowingly compared the candidate to his late father due to their shared propensity for eschewing political correctness.