New Hampshire state rep: ‘The Pope is the anti-Christ. Do your research.’
New Hampshire state Rep. Susan DeLemus, a passionate Donald Trump supporter, had a colorful way of expressing her feelings about the Pope last week.
“The Pope is the anti-Christ. Do your research,’’ DeLemus wrote on her Facebook page. “I’m not sure who the Pope truly has in his heart.’’
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The criticism of the Catholic Church’s top leader on Earth came after Pope Francis suggested that anyone who wants to build walls, rather than build bridges, is “not Christian.’’ Trump has repeatedly said he will build a 2,000-mile wall along the Mexico-U.S. border to keep out undocumented immigrants.
In another post, DeLemus also called the Pope a “hypocrite’’ because Vatican City is partly surrounded by walls. The walls were built in the ninth century to keep out armed invaders.
In comments to Politico, DeLemus said she was referring to the papacy in general and not specifically Pope Francis:
“I was actually referencing the papacy. And what I wrote after that ‘do your research,’ if you read the Geneva Bible, which is the Bible I use when we study, the commentary is—actually by the founders of the United States actually, the Protestant Church—their commentary references the papacy as the anti-Christ,’’ DeLemus said. “And I think actually in one part of it, and I don’t remember who it was that wrote it, there was one of the popes that they had referenced as the anti-Christ. So that’s all I was referring to, the papacy, not particularly that one particular pope because the papacy is a seat. It’s not just one person.’’
DeLemus also tried to clarify what she meant by saying the Pope is the anti-Christ.
“I’m not saying the pope is going to start growing horns and a tail and start poking people,’’ she said.
DeLemus served in the New Hampshire House of Representatives from 2010-2012, and then was elected again in 2014.
She was one of several lawmakers of the so-called “birther’’ movement who said Barack Obama was ineligible to be elected president. In 2011, she memorably yelled at New Hampshire officials who voted to keep Obama on state presidential ballots.
“It just makes me want to throw up,’’ she said at the time. “Let’s just bury the Constitution now and have a funeral.’’
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