Pro-Trump Pastor Prays for God to 'Uproot' Lawmakers Who Won't Bow Down

Pastor Jackson Lahmeyer, a staunch supporter of former President Donald Trump, prayed for God to "uproot" and "replace" lawmakers who refuse to bow down.

During a "Pastors for Trump" event on Thursday, Lahmeyer received a loud cheer and applause after praying for God to remove lawmakers who refuse to bow down to God's will but didn't specify which lawmakers he was referring to.

"We pray for our nation," he said during the event at Trump National Doral in Miami. "We pray for our leaders. And God we ask that every single man and every single woman that has been elected who refuses to bow down to your will, God, may you remove them and you uproot them and may you replace them with men and women who know your voice and will obey your voice."

Lahmeyer told Newsweek in an email on Saturday that he was referring to elected officials who promote and advance the "mutilation of children through gender confusion, murder of the unborn in their mother's womb and the removal of America's Christian foundation which made America Great."

Some prominent right-wing figures attended the event, including Michael Flynn, former national security adviser during the Trump administration, and Roger Stone, a conservative political consultant.

Lahmeyer's prayer continued: "God, that is our request that one day, out of Washington, D.C., justice will flow like a river and righteousness like a never-ending stream. And we will be able to say 'America is great again because America is godly again in the name of Jesus. Amen."

A number of conservative Christian groups, as well as some evangelicals, have long been supporters of the former president. "Pastors for Trump" is an organization that was founded and launched by Lahmeyer in December, when it said it has footing in every state and included Christian leaders representing some 200,000 congregants.

"Pastors for Trump" aims to draw more support for Trump, who announced his 2024 presidential bid nearly a month before the launching of the organization.

Adam Kinzinger, a former Republican Illinois representative, warned against "false prophets" in a tweet on Friday in which he shared a clip of Lahmeyer.

The pastor then fired back, retweeting Kinzinger's remark and saying: "Beware of false republicans like @AdamKinzinger.

About 80 percent of white evangelical Christians backed Trump in the 2016 presidential election. In 2020, surveys and exit polls showed between 76 percent and 81 percent of the demographic supported him.

White Catholics are another group that has massively supported Trump, according to the Pew Research Center data that showed that a majority (63 percent) who regularly attend Mass backed him in 2020.

Meanwhile, prominent MAGA Republicans, such as Colorado Representative Lauren Boebert and Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, have proudly embraced the "Christian nationalist" label. Greene has sold shirts with the label as part of her political fundraising.

Paul D. Miller, co-chair for global politics and security at Georgetown University, explained in a 2021 article for Christianity Today that "Christian nationalism is the belief that the American nation is defined by Christianity, and that the government should take active steps to keep it that way."

Greene said in July at the Turning Point USA Student Action Summit that "there's nothing wrong with leading with your faith....If we do not live our lives and vote like we are nationalists—caring about our country, and putting our country first and wanting that to be the focus of our federal government—if we do not lead that way, then we will not be able to fix it."

Update [5/13/2023] 3:21 p.m. ET: This article has been updated to include comments from Lahmeyer.