Robert Jeffress: Violent Protests at Trump Rallies Reveal the Hypocrisy of Liberalism
Pastor Robert Jeffress of First Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas, has blamed the violence at Donald Trump rallies on the "hypocrisy of liberalism," and argued that the people who "cry tolerance the loudest" are often the "most intolerant" people.
"These were not spontaneous peaceful protests, this was an organized effort by liberal groups like MoveOn.org, to limit and restrict Trump's First Amendment rights of freedom of expression. I don't think Americans like that at all, and all it does is show the hypocrisy of liberalism," Jeffress told Fox Business during an interview on "Varney&Co."
"Those people who cry tolerance the loudest are usually the most intolerant people when it comes to ideas they disagree with. And the reason this concerns me as a pastor is that the same people who want to restrict political speech they find offensive also want to restrict religious speech that they find offensive," he added.
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Trump, the frontrunner in the Republican presidential candidate race, shared the pastor's interview on his Facebook page.
"Thank you for your support Pastor Jeffers (sic)," he wrote.
Various pastors and Christian leaders have spoken out on the organized protests at several of Trump's events, which left-wing activist groups such as MoveOn.org have taken credit.
Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr. claimed that Trump's "incredible" success at the polls is terrifying both Republicans and Democrats.
"I believe the primary factors responsible for the hostilities are rooted in Donald Trump's successes at the polls: the Republican establishment has as its legacy a string of unkept promises to both conservative and to Christian voters as well as to blue collar workers and the middle class in the United States over the last few decades," Falwell told The Christian Post in a statement last week.
"Voters no longer trust or believe what establishment candidates are saying and have turned to candidates who are outsiders. The Republican establishment is terrified by this development and is frankly still in denial that it has happened. The behavior of the Republican establishment made Donald Trump's rise possible and the protests in downtown Chicago are simply the reaction of the radical left to Trump's success," he added.
Bishop E.W. Jackson, founder of Exodus Faith Ministries, separately told CP that "leftist agitators" are showing that they have "no respect" for the First Amendment and freedom of speech.
"On the other hand, every leader has a responsibility to discourage violence and avoid having supporters misinterpret the candidate's intentions," Bishop E.W. Jackson said.
"That said, even when a speaker says things that are incendiary, a person's reactions are his or her own responsibility. Americans should be committed to the idea of debating issues and substance rather than hating and wanting to do harm to others," he added.
Ilya Sheyman, executive director of MoveOn.org, claims that his activists are not to blame for the violent protests at Trump's rallies.
"But let's be clear about one thing, the protest Friday night was a direct result of the violence that has occurred at Trump rallies and that has been repeatedly encouraged by Trump himself from the stage," Sheyman said about a canceled Trump rally in Chicago.
"There is only one person to blame for the chaotic and often violent nature of Trump rallies: Donald J. Trump."
