The idolatrous pastor Nikki Haley is covered in controversy

A controversial pastor who in the past made derogatory comments about Jews and same-sex marriage opened Nikki Haley’s campaign launch event Wednesday.

John Hagee is the founder and senior pastor of Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, Texas, a nondenominational evangelical church with more than 22,000 active members.

He offered a prayer at Haley’s first public event in his home state of South Carolina after declaring his candidacy for the 2024 presidential race.

Following the legalization of same-sex marriage in the United States in 2015, Hagee cited the Bible and dismissed the idea that it was acceptable.

“Marriage is exclusively between a man and a woman,” Hagee said, thanks to a resurfaced video posted to Twitter by Right Wing Watch, which monitors and exposes the activities of radical right-wing political organizations. “Same-sex marriage will never be accepted in heaven as legitimate, says Almighty God.

“This Supreme Court has made America the new Sodom and Gomorrah. God will have to judge America, or he will have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah.”

This comment was preceded by another fact in 1999 in which Hagee, a televangelist at the time as well as a strong supporter of Israel, said that “God sent Adolf Hitler to help the Jews reach the promised land “.

The comments were discovered in 2008 after Hagee endorsed Republican presidential candidate John McCain. While Hagee eventually apologized to the Anti-Defamation League, audio of the remarks went viral and led McCain to disavow Hagee’s comment and campaign support.

“Obviously, I find these and other remarks deeply offensive and indefensible,” McCain said in 2008, according to the New York Times. “I did not know them before Reverend Hagee’s endorsement, and I feel I must reject his endorsement.”

When Haley took the stage on Wednesday, one of the first people she mentioned in a positive light was Hagee.

“Pastor Hagee, I always say I want to be you when I grow up,” Haley said.

Haley joins the GOP fray with former President Donald Trump, who wished her “good luck.” Polls have shown her trailing Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis by wide margins. She also trails former Vice President Mike Pence by a few percentage points.

Her entry into the race was hailed by Republican Rep. Nancy Mace, who touted Haley’s help in her own 2022 campaign. Mace also said the GOP needs a woman on the ticket in some respects.

Kirk Randazzo, political science professor and department chair at the University of South Carolina, said Newsweek that Mace’s assessment of female representation in the Republican Party is accurate.

“Not only does the party have a reputational problem because of Donald Trump and his treatment of women (including recent attacks on Mace and other female politicians), but also…the issue of abortion since the Supreme Court decision in Dobbs this reversal Roe vs. WadeRandazzo said. “With state legislatures, especially Republican-dominated ones, passing increasingly extreme bans on abortion access, the Republican Party has been portrayed as waging war on women. .

“It is precisely this problem that allowed Democrats to do much better than expected in the 2022 midterm elections,” he added. “This issue is only becoming more problematic.”

Haley’s approach is what makes her a great candidate, he added. She has the luxury of running for a VP position, which can provide more flexibility in how she approaches other candidates and issues.

She may also be only the female candidate, let alone a minority. The issue may involve visibility and have a resounding message that reaches the Republican base.

“Haley brings a sense of maturity and poise that the Republican Party needs,” Randazzo said. “With images of people like Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert trying to steal sound bites, no matter how insane their statements, Republicans risk seeing ordinary people viewing their party as a party that cannot govern. Nikki Haley offers a calmer version of leadership that emphasizes cooperation and consensus, which is very different from the current image.”