‘No Sir, It Is Not Possible for It to Ever Be Me’
South Carolina televangelist pastor Mark Burns tried to defend Alabama’s Roy Moore from now nine allegations of sexual assault, child sexual assault, attempted rape, and inappropriate behavior with teenaged girls. It didn’t go well.Â
Burns, an evangelical Christian who is the co-founder of the NOW Christian Television Network, was named by TIME magazine as “Donald Trump’s Top Pastor” in 2016. As a Trump surrogate he appeared on a wide variety of cable news channels to represent and support then-candidate Trump. He was a member of Trump’s Evangelical Executive Advisory Board.
On Thursday morning, Pastor Burns talked with MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle, who asked him just how many women accusing Roy Moore of sexual misconduct would it take for him to start believing them.
“For you, what number is it for you that you would start to change your view and say ‘there’s truth here’? Is it 12? Is it 15?” Ruhle asked.
“Well again I think it’s just very careful –” Burns began. Ruhle wasn’t having it.
“Sir, I just want you to answer the question for me.”
“Today it’s Judge Moore,” Burns replied. “Tomorrow it could be you.”
That did not sit well with Ruhle, who has an extensive background in both journalism and finance.
“No. You know what?” Ruhle interjected. “It can’t be me tomorrow,” she insisted. “Sir, it can’t be me tomorrow, because when I was in my 30’s, I didn’t get banned from a mall. I wasn’t calling girls in high school out of trigonometry class, and I wasn’t dating girls under the age of 18. So no sir, it is not possible for it to ever be me.”
Burns, who has a history of misstating facts, also tried to defend Roy Moore’s autographing of Bibles, which Ruhle suggested went against the teachings in the Bible.
That was just downright embarrassing.
Pastor Burns seemed to suggest that the ends justify the means – a very far right conservative Christian belief, as anyone who has ever dealt with anti-gay hate groups has seen – and used the Bible to do it.
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Thanks to ThinkProgress’ Melanie Schmitz for posting the videos.
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