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Pastor at Trump Rally Says Bernie Needs To ‘Meet Jesus’

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By Josefin Dolsten March 14, 2016

A pastor speaking at a Donald Trump rally called Monday for Bernie Sanders to “meet Jesus” and be saved.

“Bernie Sanders, who doesn’t believe in God… Listen, Bernie got to get saved. He got to meet Jesus, he got to have a ‘coming to Jesus’ meeting,” televangelist Mark Burns said at the North Carolina gathering for the frontrunner GOP candidate.

Burns, who is black, also dismissed claims that Trump is racist and said Hillary Clinton “needs to go to jail” for lying.

Bernie Sanders describes himself as a “secular Jew,” but has mostly kept religion out of his campaign. Last month, when asked about his faith at a town hall meeting, he spoke fondly of his roots.

“Obviously, being Jewish is very, very important to me,” Sanders said. “I am very proud of my heritage.”

Trump’s daughter Ivanka converted to Judaism upon marrying Jewish real estate magnate Jared Kushner.

After being criticized for taking a neutral stance on the Israel-Palestinian conflict, Trump invoked his Jewish offspring.

“I have tremendous love for Israel. I happen to have a son-in-law and a daughter that are Jewish, OK? And two grandchildren that are Jewish,” he said.

Josefin Dolsten is a New York-based writer who has reported for the Forward, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, The Times of Israel and other Jewish publications. She currently works as an account director at Fenton Communications, supporting organizations that work to advance racial justice, LGBTQ+ equality, reproductive rights and more. Dolsten earned her B.A. in government from Cornell University and her M.A. in comparative religion and Jewish studies from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

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