He also became a gatekeeper for Republican politicians seeking entry into the conservative evangelical world. "Donald Trump doesn't understand us," said Hunter Baker, a professor and dean at the evangelical Union University in Jackson, Tennessee. So when Falwell Jr. took over Liberty University, he was inheriting a keen sense of the political power that came with it. In 2015, months before he backed Trump, Falwell spoke with Trump lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen about helping keep some racy "personal" photographs from becoming public, Cohen confirmed to CNN this week . His association with Trump for the past four years has boosted his own profile and that of Liberty University, where Trump delivered the commencement address in 2017.

Source: CNN August 29, 2020 14:03 UTC