Even MAGA Recoils at Trump Cosplaying as Christ in Deranged Post

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Prominent conservatives slammed the president’s decision to compare himself to Jesus shortly after taking potshots at the pope.

President Donald Trump is facing pushback from his base for a bizarre post in which he depicted himself as Jesus Christ.

The president shared the image to Truth Social shortly after melting down in a lengthy rant aimed at Pope Leo XIV, lashing out at the Chicago-born pontiff for criticizing several of the president’s policies.

“Leo should get his act together as Pope, use Common Sense, stop catering to the Radical Left, and focus on being a Great Pope, not a Politician. It’s hurting him very badly and, more importantly, it’s hurting the Catholic Church!” the 79-year-old wrote.

He posted the AI-generated image of himself as Jesus Christ less than an hour later. In the image, he appears to be healing a man in a hospital bed while surrounded by American imagery like the U.S. flag, bald eagles, and several monuments.

The image was not received well by much of the president’s base, including several prominent allies.

Former MAGA Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who left Congress in January and has criticized the president for his administration’s handling of the Epstein files and his foreign policy, condemned the image in multiple posts across her two X accounts.

“I completely denounce this and I’m praying against it!!!” she wrote on one account, noting that the president had shared the image on Orthodox Easter.

“It’s more than blasphemy,” she added on a second account. “It’s an Antichrist spirit.”

Far-right influencer Milo Yiannopoulos also criticized the post, writing, “We tolerated this kind of meme against our better judgment because he promised to save America and only when it was clear he didn’t actually think he was the Messiah.”

He went on to blame Paula White, the televangelist who serves as senior adviser to the White House Faith Office, for her influence on the president.

“Pray for his soul. Pray for us all,” he added.

Right-wing social media personality Mike Cernovich also criticized the post, writing on X, “Trumps first post was fine. The Pope has a long documented political record. The follow-up posts? Would not be tolerated for any other religion.”

Elsewhere, MAGA political commentator Riley Gaines asked: “Why? Seriously, I cannot understand why he’d post this. Is he looking for a response?

“Does he actually think this? Either way, two things are true. 1) a little humility would serve him well 2) God shall not be mocked,” Gaines added.

MAGA podcaster Michael Knowles wrote to his 1.4 million X followers: “I assume someone has already told him, but it behooves the President both spiritually and politically to delete the picture, no matter the intent.”

Megan Basham, author and culture reporter for conservative website The Daily Wire, wrote: “I don’t know if the President thought he was being funny or if he is under the influence of some substance or what possible explanation he could have for this OUTRAGEOUS blasphemy. But he needs to take this down immediately and ask for forgiveness from the American people and then from God.”

Brilyn Hollyhand, a 19-year-old MAGA influencer, posted on X while sharing the image of Trump: “This is gross blasphemy. Faith is not a prop. You don’t need to portray yourself as a savior when your record should speak for itself. The same God who saved Trump’s life from that bullet sent His son Jesus to die for our sins. He died for Trump just as much as for you and I.”

Other MAGA figures voiced their dismay at the president. The CEO and founder of Catholic prayer app Hallow, Alex Jones, posted on X: “Our Lady, our Mother, pray for our country.”

Conservative pundit Carmine Sabia wrote: “I support Trump on most things but I will forever support my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ before any man or woman. What Trump did is reprehensible. I cannot imagine the narcissism it takes to post that.”

Several of the president’s Truth Social followers also criticized the post, with one replying that the post wasn’t “a good look” while another called for him to take it down.

“Give all honor, glory and praise to Jesus, but certainly NOT this,” the user added, before suggesting that if a staffer were responsible for the post, they should be fired.

The image appears to be similar to a Feb. 4 post from Australian-American commentator Nick Adams on Instagram, which appeared with the caption, “America has been sick for a long time. President Trump is healing this nation.”

Adams is the author of the book From Mar-a-Lago to MARS: President Trump’s Great American Comeback. Adams’ Instagram bio describes him as “President Trump’s Favorite Author”.

The image used by Trump was one of several AI-generated religiously themed images of the president posted by Adams, including another of Trump as Jesus, and one of him as a preacher handing out Bibles. Adams also posted AI-generated images of Trump as an Olympic gold medalist and President George Washington.

Where the original image had soldiers appearing in the heavens alongside bald eagles, the version posted by the president has been altered to make the figures appear less human.

After lashing out at the pope and comparing himself to Jesus, Trump doubled down, telling reporters late Sunday night that he was “not a fan of Pope Leo,” adding that he’s “a very liberal person” who “doesn’t believe in stopping crime.”

The posts came after three American cardinals appeared on Sunday night’s edition of 60 Minutes and criticized several of the president’s policies, including his foreign policy and his hardline immigration crackdown.

“I think that it’s very clear the American people are saying, ‘We really didn’t vote for this‚’” Cardinal Cupich of Chicago said of the response to Trump’s immigration policies, which Pope Leo himself has described as “extremely disrespectful.”

In a statement published late Sunday evening, Archbishop Paul S. Coakley, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said of Trump’s attack on the pope that he was “disheartened that the President chose to write such disparaging words about the Holy Father.”

“Pope Leo is not his rival; nor is the Pope a politician,” he added. “He is the Vicar of Christ who speaks from the truth of the Gospel and for the care of souls.”

The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/donald-trumps-deranged-christ-cosplay-ignites-furious-backlash-from-maga-faithful/?

ps:Where's all the outrage from Christian Leaders? Like the ones that stand behind and for trump?? And all those SDA Prs and leaders and church members that stand with this repulsive man???????????????

[phkrause]

The Gospel According to Donald

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Many people get the Sunday scaries, but most of them are not a sitting president facing self-inflicted global chaos and the growing possibility of a bruising midterm election in a few months. What feels like a weekly social-media crashout from the president of the United States usually starts some time on Sunday and continues into the early hours of the next morning. Given the failure of negotiations with Iran on Saturday, the likelihood of elevated gas prices for months, and the resounding defeat of Trump’s ally and role model Viktor Orbán in Hungary, Donald Trump had plenty of fuel for a freakout last night.

But the most notable subject in this week’s edition was Pope Leo XIV, who has been critical of Trump’s attack on Venezuela and war in Iran. The posts illustrate that Trump views religion much the way he views everything else: as something that can serve him but does not create any obligations on him.

“Pope Leo is WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, kicking off a lengthy jeremiad. “I don’t want a Pope who criticizes the President of the United States because I’m doing exactly what I was elected, IN A LANDSLIDE, to do, setting Record Low Numbers in Crime, and creating the Greatest Stock Market in History.” Trump claimed that Leo XIV was elected only because the cardinals believed he’d be good at dealing with the current administration. Trump is also upset that Leo met with David Axelrod, the Democratic strategist and commentator. “Leo should get his act together as Pope, use Common Sense, stop catering to the Radical Left, and focus on being a Great Pope, not a Politician,” Trump said.

Forty-six minutes later, Trump posted an illustration of himself as a Jesus-like figure, reaching out to heal a man in bed while a nurse, a soldier, and others look on, and with a background of patriotic bric-a-brac (flag, eagles, fighter jets). The image has been circulating for at least a couple of months, during which time an angel near the top of the image has somehow transformed into a creepy monstrosity, presumably through the wonders of generative AI. The illustration drew claims of blasphemy and even demonic possession from some usual Trump allies on the right; the president has since deleted it, telling reporters he believed that the picture depicted him as a doctor.

Too many contradictions appear here to list them all. For example, Trump insists that Leo renounce politics yet also complains about the pope’s policy stance on crime. What he’s referring to here is a mystery. (The Catholic Church could be said to have a decarceral agenda: Jesus, quoting the Prophet Isaiah, said that he had been sent to preach freedom to prisoners, and the first pope, Peter, was imprisoned at least once and likely executed for professing Jesus. Then again, the Vatican City has, by some accounts, the highest per-capita crime rate in the world, due mainly to pickpocketing.)

Another contradiction is that Trump doesn’t actually seem to have any problem with the intermingling of religion and politics—as the Christlike image shows, and as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s aggressive rhetoric about the war demonstrates. The president’s reflexive response to criticism (or perceived criticism) from any public figure is to unleash a social-media barrage against them, without much thought about who the person is or what their role in society might be. This black-and-white view of the world owes more to Mani, another religious leader whose death was depicted as a crucifixion, than to Jesus of Nazareth.

The tirade at Leo is the latest escalation of anti-Catholic sentiment among some figures on the MAGA right. Trump has a number of devout Catholics in his administration, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President J. D. Vance, although some, like Vance, have sometimes disagreed with the Holy See under Leo and his predecessor, Francis. The Free Press reported last week that the Pentagon had summoned a Vatican official, the first known time such a meeting had been held. It didn’t go well, with administration officials reportedly invoking the Avignon papacy, the 14th century domination of the role by the French crown. Both sides downplayed the report, but Trump’s post makes it hard to dismiss the friction between them.

Speaking with reporters as he flew to Algeria today, Leo said, “I have no fear, neither of the Trump administration nor of speaking out loudly about the message in the Gospel.” And though more restrained than Trump, he showed that he can dish it out as well as take it, quipping about Truth Social, “It’s ironic—the name of the site itself. Say no more.”

But although Leo separated himself from involvement in electoral politics in the way that Trump meant it, he defended his claim to speak on social issues, citing Jesus’s statement that “blessed are the peacemakers.” Matters of peace, poverty, and privilege are central to Christianity, and navigating how and how much to take on these issues is a challenge to any secular leader—indeed, any individual—who professes the religion.

Trump’s theological vision shares much with, and may have come from, Norman Vincent Peale, a popular Protestant minister of the mid-20th century. Peale, who wrote The Power of Positive Thinking, attracted congregants including the Trump family with a version of Christianity that emphasized happiness and material wealth but perhaps asked less of its followers, even though Jesus repeatedly says in the Gospels that following him is not a casual endeavor.

As an adult, Trump showed few signs of religiosity or familiarity with scripture even as he courted Christians in the 2016 election. Since surviving an assassination attempt in 2024, Trump has sounded more overtly religious, and has publicly mused about his chances to get into heaven. But his rhetoric has not been matched by any clear change in behavior, quest for absolution for past sins, or increased attendance at church. Matters of peace, poverty, and privilege do not seem front of mind: After briefly portraying himself as a peacemaker in pursuit of the Nobel Prize, Trump has now embraced military adventure; he has shrugged at economic tumult; and he has brushed aside faith leaders’ concerns about his immigration enforcement. Trump well understands the iconographic and organizational power of Christianity, but he seems to reject the idea that it should create any constraints on him.

Related:

• The Catholic Church and the Trump administration are not getting along.
• Peter Wehner: MAGA Jesus is not the real Jesus

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Trump Brutally Dumps MAGA Icon He Once Called ‘Tremendous’

The president lashed out at his former ally while defending his post depicting himself as Christ.

President Donald Trump has called it quits on one of his former allies.

The 79-year-old publicly hit back at conservative activist Riley Gaines after the former swimmer criticized the president’s post depicting himself as Jesus Christ. Gaines wrote on X that she was stumped by the president’s move and suggested Trump seek “humility.”

“Why? Seriously, I cannot understand why he’d post this. Is he looking for a response? Does he actually think this?” Gaines, who gained fame in the MAGAverse for her loud opposition to transgender athletes in women’s sports, said.

“Either way, two things are true,” she continued. “1) a little humility would serve him well 2) God shall not be mocked.”

In the face of mounting backlash, including from his own supporters, the president deleted the post and claimed that he thought it depicted him as a doctor, not Christ.

When asked by CBS’ Norah O’Donnell if he deleted the post because of the negative response from Gaines and other conservatives, the president replied, “I didn’t listen to Riley Gaines. I’m not a big fan of Riley, actually.”

Gaines was quick to respond to the president’s dismissal, writing on X that despite his public rebuke, she would continue to support his agenda.“I love the President and I’m so grateful he’s in the Oval Office,” she wrote. “At the end of the day, I do nothing for the approval of man. Our purpose on this earth is to glorify Him in all we do.”

“The truth social post missed the mark,” she continued. “It’s now deleted. Amazing! We’re imperfect people. I know I am. I don’t get my feelings hurt easy and I know with the President it’s really not personal.”

Gaines, who is a devout Christian, added that she wants to “spend eternity in a real place called Heaven” and that she would love for Trump to be there too.

The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.

Gaines ingratiated herself with MAGA and caught Trump’s attention when she began speaking out against trans athletes in women’s sports after competing against a trans swimmer.

In March 2022, Gaines, who was swimming for the University of Kentucky, tied for fifth place with transgender competitor Lia Thomas in the 200-yard freestyle at the NCAA Championships.

Despite Gaines’ apparent shortcomings in the water, her star grew as her messaging developed in lockstep with the president’s crusade against trans people in sports.

After the race, Gaines, who never went pro as a swimmer, hit the conservative podcast circuit to rail against rules that allowed transgender people to compete against biological women.

She became a frequent fixture on the airwaves, appearing on TV shows hosted by MAGA thought leaders like former Fox News star Tucker Carlson. She was even a speaker at the Conservative Political Action Conference in 2022, where she was introduced by Trump.

Indeed, Trump praised her as a “tremendous athlete” and a “brave swimmer.”

“Riley is just a tremendous athlete,” Trump said while signing an executive order targeting transgender athletes in February 2025, with Gaines in attendance.

“I want to thank Riley,” he continued. “She really has been in the forefront. People that aren’t that well-versed in this would say that she was the leader. And great job, Riley. Thank you very much. Appreciate it.”

The president posted the AI-generated image of himself as Christ shortly after unloading on Pope Leo XIV for criticizing him in an inflammatory 334-word rant.

“I don’t want a Pope who criticizes the President of the United States because I’m doing exactly what I was elected, IN A LANDSLIDE, to do, setting Record Low Numbers in Crime, and creating the Greatest Stock Market in History,” the 79-year-old wrote on Truth Social.

The president was incensed by the Chicago-born pontiff’s repeated calls for an end to the Iran war and pleas for peace. In addition, he confirmed to CBS News that he had watched Sunday night’s episode of 60 Minutes featuring three American cardinals criticizing his policies prior to his posting spree.

Responding to the president’s attacks, the pope said, “I have no fear of the Trump administration, or speaking out loudly of the message of the Gospel, which is what I believe I am here to do.”

Asked about Truth Social specifically, the pope said, “It’s ironic — the name of the site itself. Say no more.”

https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-brutally-dumps-maga-icon-he-once-called-tremendous/?

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Trump, 79, Posts Deranged New Jesus Picture After Furious Backlash

He’s at it again.

Donald Trump is testing out a new portrayal of himself as the chosen one after deleting a post that sparked backlash for depicting him as Jesus Christ.

“The Radical Left Lunatics might not like this, but I think it is quite nice!!!!” the 79-year-old president posted to Truth Social on Wednesday morning.

His comments accompanied a screenshot of a failed MAGA-loving congressional candidate’s post on X featuring Christ embracing Trump against the backdrop of an American flag. The caption reads: “I was never a very religious man.. But doesn’t it seem, with all these satanic, demonic, child sacrificing monsters being exposed… that God might be playing his Trump card!” It was apparently a reference to the conspiracy theory at the center of the QAnon movement that claims Trump is battling a secret cabal of child traffickers.

Trump’s new post comes hot on the heels of an uproar, even among the MAGA base, over an AI-generated image he posted of himself Sunday as the son of God.

That image featured Trump, depicted as Christ, healing a hospital patient with hands gleaming with divine light, flanked by an American flag, bald eagles, the Statue of Liberty, and the Lincoln Memorial. He later admitted to posting the image but bizarrely claimed he thought he was depicted as a “doctor.”

It also followed a vicious, 334-word tirade in which he lambasted Pope Leo XIV, who has proven consistently critical of the president’s second administration, on everything from Iran and Venezuela to immigration.

He blasted Leo for supposedly thinking “it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon” and being “weak on crime,” further claiming the pontiff, history’s first American pope, would not have been elected last May “if I wasn’t in the White House.”

The AI picture drew furious responses from across the political spectrum, even from figures who have otherwise long served as the president’s most loyal cheerleaders.

“Why? Seriously, I cannot understand why he’d post this. Is he looking for a response?” Riley Gaines, a pro-MAGA pundit, posted on X. “Does he actually think this? Either way, two things are true. 1) a little humility would serve him well 2) God shall not be mocked.”

“I don’t know if the President thought he was being funny or if he is under the influence of some substance or what possible explanation he could have for this OUTRAGEOUS blasphemy,” Megan Basham, a culture reporter at right-wing outlet The Daily Wire, added. “But he needs to take this down immediately and ask for forgiveness from the American people and then from God.”

Trump, in a rare admission of having pushed things too far, did eventually take the image down Monday.

Vice President JD Vance, who has been promoting his upcoming book about his conversion to Catholicism, suggested the president had simply been “posting a joke,” and that he took the image down when he realized people were not appreciating his sense of humor.

The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment on this story.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/president-donald-trump-79-posts-deranged-new-jesus-picture-after-furious-backlash/?

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👀 Scoop: "Jesus" meme backstory

Bill Pulte and the meme Trump posted late Sunday, before removing it Monday. Images: Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images, Truth Social Before President Trump posted an image of himself as a Christ-like healer, he discussed the meme with his controversial housing finance chief, Bill Pulte, Axios' Marc Caputo has learned. Why it matters: Pulte has a penchant for stirring up controversy, grabbing headlines and irritating other members of Trump's administration. Pulte, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, is a ubiquitous figure in the president's orbit both in the White House and at Mar-a-Lago, where Pulte is a member. Trump was in South Florida over the weekend and the two spent time together, according to two advisers who spoke to the president about the image. At some point, Pulte brought the image to Trump's attention, the advisers told Axios. It's not clear whether he just displayed the rendering on his phone or actually sent it to the president. "Everyone thought it was a joke," one of the advisers said. A third adviser who's friendly with Pulte said he didn't provide the meme to Trump. The intrigue: Adding to the strangeness of the AI-generated image Trump posted late Sunday was the inclusion of a mysterious, horned creature in the heavens that some interpreted as a demon. The original image of Trump as Christ-like healer didn't include the horned creature. Keep reading. ps:How anyone could even suggest this is sad

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‘Christian’ Pentagon Pete Confronted With Video of Trump in Hell

He had nothing to say about AI slop of Jesus as Christ—but AI slop of Trump getting his eternal reward is a different matter.

Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth has accused Iran of being “detached from reality” after it circulated an AI-generated video depicting Jesus punching Donald Trump into hell—although that image was simply based on Trump’s own post.

Days after Trump himself posted a controversial image portraying himself as a Christ-like figure, Hegseth blasted the Iranian regime for pushing out their own imagery mocking the president’s post.

Hegseth has turned his position as Secretary of Defense into a bully pulpit for his evangelical Christian beliefs.

The video was shared by an Iranian diplomatic account and quickly spread across social media platforms. It shows a stylized version of Jesus striking Trump, who then falls into flames—imagery widely interpreted as both political satire and religious provocation.

Asked about this on Wednesday, Hegseth told reporters: “That’s disgusting and detached from reality.

“Iran says a lot of things in the propaganda space based on complete lies, and their actions have been lies,” he added.

“They are going to misrepresent, lie, and spin in a multitude of ways which we are quite used to. Ultimately, they need to come to the table and make a deal.”

The comments were made during Hegseth’s latest update on the war, with both sides now in a tenuous ceasefire as a standoff continues in the Strait of Hormuz.

The crucial waterway has been at a standstill ever since Trump began his war on February 28, prompting a global oil crisis and more pain at the pump for consumers.

But with less than a week before a temporary ceasefire is set to expire, Hegseth said the U.S. was “locked and loaded” to once again attack if Iran did not agree to a peace deal.

He also urged Iran’s leaders to “choose wisely” while vowing that an American naval blockade of Iranian ports would continue for “as long as it takes.”

The tensions between Washington and Tehran have also spilled into an increasingly aggressive information war.

One series of memes, for instance, mocks Trump’s repeated deadlines to Iran and his warning that “a whole civilization will die tonight” with AI-generated clips showing miniature versions of him surrendering and panicking. Others use Legos to mock the president.

“Wars are fought in two spaces. They’re fought on the battleground, and then, just as important a battleground is the communications war. Iran has been able to completely monopolize the communications war—especially on social media globally,” said Narges Bajoghli, associate professor of anthropology and Middle East studies at Johns Hopkins University.

“You have a generation of very young, millennial and Gen Z content creators in Iran who have been given the space and the green light to message this war to the global community.”

Hegseth also used his press conference to once again complain about press coverage of the war, accusing the media of putting out what he called an “endless stream of garbage.”

But this time, the Christian National and former Fox & Friends host also invoked Biblical references to compare the media to the Pharisees, the group that was hostile to Jesus.

Noting a chapter in the Book of Mark, in which the Pharisees came to see Jesus, Hegseth told reporters: “You see the Pharisees, the so-called and self-appointed elites of their time, they were there to witness, to write everything down to report, but their hearts were hardened. Even though they witnessed a literal miracle, it didn’t matter. They were only there to explain away goodness in pursuit of their agenda.”

https://www.thedailybeast.com/pentagon-pete-blasts-despicable-video-of-trump-falling-into-hell/?

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Trump Pastor Claims President Has ‘Better Understanding’ of Bible Than Pope

The Catholic-criticizing pastor and the president have had a longstanding relationship.

One of Donald Trump’s most loyal and long-standing evangelical supporters believes the president knows the Bible better than the leader of the world’s largest organized religion.

“It looks like President Trump has a better understanding of what the Bible teaches about the role of government than the pope has,” Pastor Robert Jeffress said on Fox News on Friday, speaking on the topic of Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s Thursday meeting with the pontiff.

Jeffress, the pastor of First Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas, has supported the president since 2016, serving on his evangelical advisory board and even delivering a sermon to him on the morning of his inauguration during his first term.

The admiration Jeffress has for Trump, 79, seems to go both ways, as the president has called the virulently anti-Catholic pastor “a wonderful man” and promoted his “great book,” A Place Called Heaven, in 2017.

Their relationship has seemed to continue, as the pastor revealed on Friday that he was in the Oval Office with Trump and other faith leaders just three days after the U.S. began war with Iran on Feb. 28.

“I thanked him then for having the courage to fulfill his God-given responsibility to protect our nation,” Jeffress said on Fox. The controversial pastor has previously teased the idea of “using force to topple evil,” releasing a statement that said, “God has given Trump authority to take out Kim Jong Un.”

“I wanted to clarify that I believe the Bible, especially Romans 13, does give President Trump moral authority to use whatever force necessary, including assassination or even war to topple an evil dictator like Kim Jong Un,” the pastor told Fox & Friends host Steve Doocy in 2017.

On Friday, Jeffress reiterated the claim that “the role of government is to protect citizens from evil doers,” while also criticizing Pope Leo XIV for his stance on the war with Iran.

“The pope is a good man, he’s sincere in his faith, but he is sincerely wrong when it comes to Iran,” Jeffress—who has previously declared the Catholic Church a “counterfeit” religion—said.

This opinion follows that of the president, who has escalated his largely one-sided feud with the first American pope over the last few months, saying he was “endangering a lot of Catholics” by not speaking out about the war in Iran and calling the head of the Catholic Church “WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy” on Truth Social.

In response to Trump’s criticism, Pope Leo said he hopes he is “listened to for the value of the words of God,” adding that the church has spoken out against nuclear weapons.

Yet Pastor Jeffress appeared to offer the pope his own advice on what he “oughts to know,” claiming that “God created both the church and government for two different, distinct purposes.”

“The role of the church is to point people into faith in Jesus Christ, but the role of government is to protect citizens from evil doers,” Jeffress said.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-pastor-claims-president-has-better-understanding-of-bible-than-pope/?

ps:How pathetic?