“Duck Dynasty” star Phil Robertson personally shared the Christian gospel with Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump — a revelation Robertson made during a recent interview with “The Church Boys” podcast.
“(I discussed) God becoming flesh … dying for the sins of the world, and, in his case, I said, ‘Dying for your sins, Donald, all of them, I figure there’s a lot — what do you think?'” Robertson said, recounting his experience telling Trump about the Bible and salvation. “He didn’t disagree with me.”
The encounter unfolded after Robertson said the Trump camp invited him to meet with the oft-times brash businessman. Rather than focusing on the contentious 2016 presidential campaign, the reality TV star said he felt compelled to speak about spiritual matters, Deseret News reported.
As for Trump’s reception to the gospel message, Robertson said the candidate listened closely — and even asked some questions.
Listen to Roberson describe the meeting with Trump below:
“The Duck Dynasty” star said he didn’t simply talk about that message; he also drew it in symbolic form to help better drive his points home. Robertson included “an arrow coming down out of heaven … God becoming flesh, a cross, where Jesus took away the sins of the world.”
Trump reportedly asked if he could take the images with him after the meeting, and Robertson agreed.
“Mr. Trump has heard the gospel from my lips,” Robertson said. “I owed him that. I loved him enough to tell him.”
Robertson also went on to express why he supports Trump’s presidential run, despite the candidate’s brashness and the controversies that have unfolded of late — specifically a video from 2005 that features Trump making lewd comments about women. That clip has gone viral in recent weeks and has created doubts among some skeptical Christian supporters.
Still, Robertson sees Trump as the best presidential option among the available choices.
“Better a man who sticks his foot in his mouth every once in a while than a woman who pours out lies from her mouth,” Robertson said, seemingly comparing Trump to his rival Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
Robertson spoke with “The Church Boys” as he was promoting his new documentary “Torchbearer” — a film currently available in theaters and on demand.
It’s a movie that explores what happens when human beings abandon God, with Robertson encouraging people to turn back to faith. You can read more about the movie here.
Robertson isn’t alone in sharing the gospel with Trump, as the Republican candidate has been surrounded by many evangelical leaders since the start of the 2016 presidential campaign who have likely done the same, though there has been fierce debate among Christians over whether he’s actually an appropriate candidate for them to support.
As Faithwire recently reported, evangelicals, in particular, are deeply split over Trump’s candidacy.
While LifeWay Research found that 45 percent of evangelicals plan to vote for him, 31 percent said they’d opt for Hillary Clinton, with an additional 9 percent saying they would choose a third-party candidate. Read more about that dynamic here.