Mr. Trump:    February 17, 2016

We, the undersigned, represent millions of pro-family Americans who are dedicated to a nation where God is honored, religious freedom flourishes, families thrive and life is cherished.  As a national alliance with nearly 40 state-based organizations, we have invited you to participate in our Presidential Teleconference Series to share your views on the issues important to values voters. We have interviewed most of the leading candidates, but after several attempts, we have not yet been able to schedule such a call with you. Therefore, we direct the following questions to you on policy issues important to our constituents:

1--After years of describing yourself as “pro-choice in every respect”—even supporting partial-birth abortion—you now say that you are pro-life.  Your explanation for this change of position – that a baby who was nearly aborted ended up being a “superstar” – is confusing, particularly since you acknowledged that if the child had been “a loser,” your pro-abortion position probably wouldn’t have changed.  Please explain this utilitarian view of the sanctity of human life.  Do you consider life only worth protecting if it meets certain criteria, and, if so, what are those criteria?

2--How do you square your new position on life with your statements in 2015 supporting continued taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion seller?

3--The next president is expected to nominate two to four U.S. Supreme Court justices, beginning immediately with the vacancy caused by the passing of Justice Scalia.  These nominations will likely decide critical issues such as abortion.  You’ve recommended your sister, Maryanne Trump Barry, for the High Court.  Yet, as a federal judge, she overturned the New Jersey Partial-Birth Abortion Ban, writing that it“burdened a woman's constitutional right to obtain an abortion.”  How can we trust you to nominate judges who will respect the constitutional limits on judicial power and uphold the sanctity of human life?

4--You claim to support religious freedom, yet a leading gay-activist organization calls you “one of the best, if not the best, pro-gay Republican candidates to ever run for the presidency” – particularly because of your “standout position” when it comes to legislation that forces Christian business owners – and others of faith – to either betray their conscience or lose their business.  How do you reconcile these contradictory positions?

5--You have built your campaign on lifting the economic outlook of lower-income Americans, yet you built your fortune in part on gambling, which preys on those very people.  How will you make America great when you’ve run businesses associated with increased crime, bankruptcies, broken marriages and suicides?

6--The first casino in the nation to add a strip club was Trump Taj Mahal Casino in Atlantic City, which boasts of “36,000 square feet of adult entertainment.”  What would you say to young girls and women who are concerned about a president who is directly connected with the exploitation of women?

7--As someone who claims to be a fiscal conservative, how do you justify your statements in support of a huge tax increase and government bailouts. Regarding the bank bailouts, you even stated: “I do agree with what they're doing with the banks. Whether they fund them or nationalize them, it doesn't matter, but you have to keep the banks going.”  Perhaps most concerning of all is your continued admiration for single-payer, government-run healthcare systems.  Please explain how this is consistent with the party of limited government?

8--One of your favorite campaign themes is that you are going to “run America” if elected. Considering our system of checks and balances, and especially in light of the last seven years of government by fiat, how will you demonstrate your respect for the U.S. Constitution and the limited power the Founding Fathers intended for the federal government in general, and the executive branch in particular?

Mr. Trump, we look forward to your response to these, and many other questions, affecting the lives of American families nationwide.

Signed,

Paul Weber, President & CEO, CitizenLink

Jim Minnery, President, Alaska Family Action

Jerry Cox, President, Family Council Action Committee (Arkansas)

Cathi Herrod, President, Center for Arizona Policy Action

Peter Wolfgang, President, Family Institute of Connecticut Action

Nicole Theis, President, Delaware Family Policy Council

John Stemberger, President, Florida Family Action

Duke Aiona, President & CEO, Hawai’i Family Advocates

Bob Vander Plaats, President & CEO, The FAMiLY LEADER (Iowa)

Julie Lynde, Executive Director, Cornerstone Family Action (Idaho)

Curt Smith, President, Indiana Family Action

Steve Brunk, Executive Director, Family Policy Alliance of Kansas

Kent Ostrander, President, The Family Foundation of Kentucky

Carroll Conley, Executive Director, Christian Civic League of Maine

John Helmberger, Chief Executive Officer, Minnesota Family Council

Jeff Laszloffy, President & CEO, Montana Family Foundation

Al Riskowski, Executive Director, Nebraska Family Action

Tom Freier, Executive Director, North Dakota Family Policy Alliance Action

Bryan McCormack, Executive Director, Cornerstone Action (New Hampshire)

Len Deo, Founder & President, New Jersey Family First

Rev. Jason J. McGuire, Executive Director, New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms

Phil Burress, Chairman, Citizens for Community Values Action (Ohio)

Michael Geer, President, Pennsylvania Family Council

Jonathan Saenz, President, Texas Values Action

Victoria Cobb, President, The Family Foundation Action (Virginia)

Julaine Appling, President, Wisconsin Family Action

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