Every few months Duck Dynasty’s Phil Robertson tweaks the media. His most recent statement to cause a little stir is a pre-race prayer before the Sprint Cup Series race in Texas Saturday in which the conservative Christian thanked God for “Bibles and guns” and prayed that He’d put a “Jesus man in the White House.”
Robertson’s participation in the event came in part because Duck Commander is the title sponsor of the race. (Yahoo notes that NASCAR is the only major sport that still consistently holds a pre-event prayer.) As he’s known and loved for, Robertson didn’t worry too much about political correctness in his brief pre-race prayer, praising God for guns and “founding our nation,” asking for protection for the U.S. military, and praying for the election of a true “Jesus man” as the next president.
“Alright Texas, we got here via Bibles and guns,” said Robertson. “I’m fixing to pray to the one who made that possible. Father thank you for founding our nation. I pray father that we don’t forget who brought us. You. Our faith in the blood of Jesus and his resurrection. Help us father to get back to that. Help us dear God understand that the men and women on my right, the U.S. military. On my right and on my left. Our faith in you and the U.S. military is the reason we’re still here. I pray Father that we put a Jesus man in the White House. Help us do that and help us all to repent to do what’s right to love you more and to love each other. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen.”
In January, Robertson endorsed Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, a favorite among evangelicals (video below), but his son Willie Robertson quickly came out in support of Donald Trump. Soon after they both announced their competing endorsements, Phil and Willie appeared on “Hannity” to discuss their differing opinions.
“So I just looked at Cruz. He stood out in my mind as being a moral and religious man. I thought to myself, ‘Good enough for me,'” said Phil. “It’s about that simple on my part.”
As for his son endorsing Trump, Phil said, “It could have been worse. He could’ve said, ‘Dad, I’m going with Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders’ … Then we would have had some worries.”
Willie said that he chose Trump because he believed he was the best candidate to really shake up the establishment.
Robertson was condemned by LGBT activists and briefly suspended from Duck Dynasty by AMC in 2013 after making remarks critical of homosexuality in an interview with GQ. He was also heavily criticized for comments he made about his own experiences growing up in the pre-Civil Rights era South that some interpreted as racist.
Here’s Phil’s viral endorsement of Cruz: