AP
BY LESLEY CLARK | MCCLATCHYDC
Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump will speak at Liberty University on Jan. 18, the latest presidential hopeful to address the conservative school founded by the late Jerry Falwell.
Trump – who spoke in 2012 at the Virginia school – is scheduled to address the school’s students on the first day of classes for the spring semester, the News & Advance in Lynchburg reported.
Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr. told the newspaper that he and his wife, Becki, have stayed in “close contact” with Trump since his 2012 appearance on campus. Falwell and Trump also spoke after Falwell’s December appearance on “The Sean Hannity Show,” in which the school president defended his decision in the wake of the San Bernardino shooting to end a rule prohibiting students from bringing guns into dorms. Becki Falwell told the newspaper that Trump had called Falwell, telling him he was proud of him and that he liked that Falwell had compared Trump favorably to the late Jerry Falwell.
During the Fox News segment, Falwell offered his thoughts on his three favorite presidential contenders: Trump, Ben Carson and Ted Cruz.
“I think Trump reminds me so much of my father,” Falwell told Fox. “He says exactly what he thinks no matter what anybody cares.”