'Trump or Jesus?' CPAC pastors asked where they put their faith

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26 February 2024

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NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — A pastor preaching to the attendees of this week's Conservative Political Action Conference thinks America needs Donald Trump and Jesus Christ — but there's a more immediate need for the former.

Pastor Steven Gray, from Lee's Summit, Missouri, said, “I'm trying to mix the spiritual with the political,” as he handed Raw Story a press packet from an old leather over-the-shoulder bag. “My church is doing great — everything’s doing great — I felt like just, this is what I should do now, is lean into taking the spiritual and mixing [in] the political.”

"Does America need Jesus more or Trump more?” Raw Story asked him.

“This will just have to be my plain opinion, okay? In my plain opinion, I am a big supporter of Trump,” Gray said.

“I think the spiritual is going to be long term, the political is short term: We need him now. The spiritual, we got, you know, we can work into it."

He recalled seeing an ad for Trump with a list of bullet points. The last one struck him most — it asked if America is "spiritually sick?"

"That’s in my lane. I'm not in the other lanes, but that’s in my lane," the pastor explained.

“He is one of the big reasons I’m doing this, because I think it needs to be combined," Gray said of Jesus and Trump. "And I think he’s a candidate that would not oppose the political and the spiritual.

“We need 'em both."

He wasn't the only pastor at the event, or the only one speaking about faith.

Former Rep. Dave Brat (R-VA) walked Steve Bannon through his brand of Christian Nationalism while appearing on the former Trump adviser's show from CPAC.

Before a crowd of about 100 people, Brat explained, "God’s put a special hand on this country. There’s nothing wrong with that. Don’t be ashamed of that. Get out, teach your kids that."

When Raw Story caught up with him after Bannon's show, he said, "God is with everybody that he made in his own image," and that includes Trump. He also agreed God was "with" President Joe Biden.

Joseph Daniels said he's "probably running for Congress one day."

The Christian from Naperville, Illinois, expressed his fears: “The left is so demonic now, bro.”

He claimed liberals are "trying to sexualize children" while also "trying to wipe out the next generation with abortion and Planned Parenthood and the organ harvesting trade. There’s a lot of evil stuff going on. A lot. It’s really, really sad.”

“Trump let me down with not pardoning Julian Assange," Daniels said. “Speaker Johnson’s weak, bro. He hasn’t done much. He’s just like McCarthy."

Evan Robey, 18, a student at the University of Georgia, was asked whether he'd pick Trump or Jesus, and while he went for the latter, he also told Raw Story, “Trump is the only way for our country,”

“There are a bunch of liberals trying to determine whether or not Trump is a Christian in all these articles, like, ‘Trump doesn't exhibit the values of Christianity.’ I’m like, ‘How the hell do they know?’ That’s actually ridiculous," he said.

Raw Story asked about the "Access Hollywood" tape in which Trump confessed he could sexually assault women without any consequences as a "celebrity."

“I disagree with that, because it’s about the policy," Robey claimed. "And look at everything Donald Trump stands for: He stands for closing our borders. He stands for bringing back the American values. He wants us to have jobs. Basically, it’s the whole help your neighbor mentality that we have learned through Christ. It’s less about what you say and more about what you do. That’s the heart of Christianity."

Bishop Joseph Strickland told Raw Story it was an easy pick between Jesus and Trump.

"Jesus," he said. “Pastors can get off track, too. Believe me.”

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