Amid calls for President Donald Trump's evangelical advisers to step down from his Evangelical Advisory Board in the wake of the president's statements on last weekend's events in Charlottesville, one of those advisers, Jerry Falwell Jr., went on ABC's This Week to defend Trump and explain why he still supports him.
"One of the reasons I supported him is because he doesn't say what's politically correct, he says what is is in his heart, what he believes, and sometimes that gets him in trouble. But he does not have a racist bone in his body," Falwell, president of Liberty University, told ABC's Martha Raddatz Sunday morning.
"All of us could [be more careful with our words]. But at least he's not politically correct, he's not so concerned about rehearsing and focus grouping every statement he makes and that's one of the reasons I supported him," Falwell said.
After Trump's Tuesday comments that have been widely denounced and caused CEOs to resign from an administration business advisory council, Falwell tweeted his support for the president.
Finally a leader in WH. Jobs returning, N Korea backing down, bold truthful stmt about #charlottesville tragedy.So proud of @realdonaldtrump
— Jerry Falwell (@JerryFalwellJr) August 16, 2017
Falwell's comments, and continued support for Trump, has led some Liberty University graduates to return their diplomas in protest, NPR reports.
In his ABC interview, Falwell denounced the white supremacists who rallied in Charlottesville as "pure evil" and said he rejected notions of moral equivalency, but defended Trump's comments blaming the violence on "many sides," saying, "[Trump] has inside information that I don't have. I don't know if there were historical purists there who were trying to preserve some statues."
Watch the full interview below:
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