Christian Pastor Claims Democrats 'Have Demons In Them' and Are Trying to 'Place Hexes' On Trump

Evangelical Christian Pastor Perry Stone has claimed that Democratic lawmakers "have demons in them" and are "trying to place hexes and curses" on President Donald Trump.

Stone, who founded Perry Stone Ministries and is described as a best-selling author, made the claims during a Thursday night prayer meeting last week, Right Wing Watch first reported on Monday. He argued that Trump's demon-possessed political opponents knew that the president is "delaying the spirit of antichrist."

"They're trying to place hexes and curses on President Trump," the religious leader said. "Satan hates this man."

"I have never, in any nation of the world ... seen people raised up with demons in them [like] in Washington," Stone said. "They have demons in them. You can look at their eyes when they almost start foaming at the mouth," he said. The pastor then took aim at Democratic House Intelligence Committee Adam Schiff, claiming that the representative's "eyes get as big as saucers and it looks like he is having a seizure when you bring up [Trump's] name."

"These are not normal people. They have given themselves over to reprobate minds," Stone stated. Schiff has been one of the president's staunchest critics and, due to his committee post, has taken a leading role in the fast-moving impeachment investigation.

While Stone was primarily defending Trump and attacking Democrats during his sermon, he did also suggest the president should change some of his behavior. "He's not perfect and he needs to probably quit tweeting as much and quit cussing as much, OK?" he said to his live audience. "But some of you do the same thing," he asserted, eyeing the crowd.

White Evangelical Christians are seen as a key demographic in the president's loyal base of supporters. An estimated 81 percent of the group backed Trump in the 2016 election, and that number has remained high ever since. A poll released last week by the Public Religion Research Institute found that 99 percent of white Republican evangelicals oppose the Democratic-led impeachment inquiry and the president's removal from office.

Pastor Rick Wiles, the founder of the far-right news source TruNews, argued last week on his show that there would be "violence" if Trump were removed from office.

"However he leaves, there's gonna be violence in America," Wiles, who pastors the Flowing Streams Church in Florida, argued. "I believe there are people in this country, veterans, there are cowboys, mountain men, I mean guys that know how to fight," he said, "and they're going to make a decision that people who did this to Donald Trump are not gonna get away with it."

But Trump has faced some backlash from prominent Christian leaders due to his controversial decision to withdraw U.S. forces from northern Syria earlier this month. After Trump announced the decision, prominent televangelist Pat Robertson, who campaigned for Trump in 2016, warned that the president was "allowing the Christians and the Kurds to be massacred by the Turks."

Last week, Robertson added to the criticism, saying Americans would be "struggling for our lives" if Trump was re-elected. He argued that the Syria withdrawal, which allowed Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to move his troops into the country, was Trump surrendering to a "wicked dictator."

Despite Trump's routine use of crass language and alleged extra-marital affairs, many conservative Christians have praised the president for supporting their values. Largely, they are happy that his administration has taken a firm stance against women's reproductive rights and taken steps to roll back protections for the LGBTQ communities.