Trump: Being a Good President Is 'the Only Way I'm Going to Get to Heaven'
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump recently told a group of evangelical Christians gathered in Florida that being a good president is "the only way I'm going to get to Heaven."
Speaking before hundreds of evangelicals Thursday at an Orlando event sponsored by the American Renewal Project, Trump told those gathered that they must do "whatever you can do."
"This will be an election that will go down in the history books and for evangelicals, for the Christians, for everybody, for everybody of religion, this will be maybe the most important election that our country has ever had," said Trump.
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"So go out and spread the word and once I get in, I will do my thing that I do very well. And I figure it's probably maybe the only way I'm going to get to heaven. So I better do a good job. Okay? Thank you."
Trump also clarified to those gathered in Orlando his previous comments calling President Barack Obama and Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton the "founders of ISIS."
"I made the statement before that Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, these are the founders of ISIS. These are the founders of ISIS because of bad judgment," added Trump.
"I said they get the most valuable player award. ISIS is going to present them with the most valuable player award, you know? Like in high school. Most valuable player."
During his controversial run for president, Trump has made several awkward comments before conservative Christian audiences.
Months back at a speech he delivered at Liberty University, Trump among other things, referred to Second Corinthians as "Two Corinthians."
"He mispronounced a book of the Bible. He cursed — twice. And on Martin Luther King Day, the GOP presidential candidate said he was honoring the slain civil rights leader by dedicating to him the record crowds he says he drew for the school's opening convocation," reported NPR in January.
"Students in the room snickered and laughed, and advisers to two of Trump's top rivals, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, were quick to point out the gaffe on Twitter."
Trump's remarks at the American Renewal Project gathering in Orlando come not long after he referred to Hillary Clinton as "the devil."
Speaking at a campaign rally in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania earlier this month, Trump argued that former Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders should have refused to work with Clinton and Democratic Party leadership due to their treatment of him.
"[Bernie] made a bad deal. He should have not made a deal. He would have gone down as [having] done something really important," said Trump.
"This guy has buyer's remorse. He looked at that and he was so angry when they were talking about him and his people are angry at him and they should be."
Trump then added that Sanders should have refused to help Clinton and that Sanders "made a deal with the devil. She's the devil."
Trump has claimed that he is a Presbyterian Christian, but also says he has never asked God for forgiveness because he hasn't done anything wrong that needs forgiving.
In a July interview with The Christian Post, Florida Pastor Paula White said that Trump has put his faith in Jesus Christ and asked for the forgiveness of his sins.
