Jim Bakker, otherwise known as half of disgraced ’80s televangelist power couple Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker — pictured above with his current wife, Lori — has spent the past decade and a half quietly rebuilding his empire after serving nearly five years of a 45-year prison sentence (for fraud and conspiracy-related charges) from 1989 to 1994. (Not to be confused with the drugging and rape allegations from actress Jessica Hahn which had previously derailed his career in 1987.)
In the present, it should come as very little surprise that the “reformed” Bakker is back on his bullshit, now as a staunch supporter of President Donald Trump and spewing dangerous rhetoric. In a sermon recently flagged by Right Wing Watch, Bakker told his followers that if Trump doesn’t get reelected in 2020, that “leaders of the gospel and the political conservative leaders” are going to be murdered. By who? Presumably AOC and the other women in Congress who Trump supporters chant “send them back” at rallies about? Dark lord Nancy Pelosi? Satan? Your guess is as good as ours!
Jim Bakker warns his audience that if Trump is not re-elected, Christian leaders and politicians will be murdered: "This is life and death." https://t.co/uvY1dShunU pic.twitter.com/ekaOIZ5gJB
— Right Wing Watch (@RightWingWatch) June 19, 2019
In a preface to his remarks, Bakker claimed that Trump was elected against all odds because “God’s people voted, and the world knows it, the enemies of the gospel know it.”
“I’m going to say something I probably shouldn’t say,” he continued, which is about the only part of his diatribe most people would actually agree with.
“What’s coming next, if we keep losing, you’re going to see the leaders of the church and the leaders of the gospel and the political conservative leaders that are powerful, you are going to see them suddenly die, suddenly killed. Suddenly as they were driving, suddenly as they were in a boat, suddenly in an airplane … You’re going to see it one after another.
God spoke this to me years ago what would happen near the end and I believe we’re in that time. There’s so desperate — this is life and death. This is the hatred of murder is in the country.”
So exactly when did God tell him this again? When he was sitting in a prison cell or when he was unemployed after being ousted from his own show for paying out $279,000 in hush money to his own alleged rape victim? The timeline is so darn tricky!
Not surprisingly, many took to Twitter to call out Bakker for his hypocrisy and attempting to use threats of violence to swing a presidential election — including “God” himself.
No, they won’t. It’s not life and death. This Jim Bakker person is a lying criminal. https://t.co/9hlj4wDTMh
— God (@thegoodgodabove) July 22, 2019
Someone who was found guilty of 24 charges against him and sent to prison for stealing $3.4 million in donations and accused of rape by Jessica Hahn and bribed her with $279,000 payment with the money coming from funds by unsuspected donors of his ministry should not preach
— Jackie (@JackieYSoto) June 20, 2019
He sure isn’t teaching any branch of Christianity that I’ve ever heard about. https://t.co/dBytiMjm5X
— Randy Bryce (@IronStache) July 22, 2019
in those demon tubes @4lisaguerrero
— Tom Arnold (@TomArnold) June 20, 2019
https://twitter.com/thecajunboy/status/1153655907160641536
Jim Bakker said that if Trump loses, liberals are going to start killing conservative leaders one by one.
I apologize to my religious followers, but why is it that every well known far-right religious leader is bat shit crazy?
— Brian O'Sullivan (@osullivanauthor) July 22, 2019
https://twitter.com/owillis/status/1153531227753918465
https://twitter.com/mmaclennan7/status/1141416485459562496
Isn’t this the guy who stole Tons of $$$ from hopeless Christians who thought by giving him money they were going to be rich. The same shit is happening again. They are being bamboozled once again https://t.co/RpebWpZ1Z9
— joann (@JoAnnStrong1961) July 22, 2019
Everytime I see something as crazy as this I fear for our future. People like Jim Baker and his followers are absolutely insane. America will disintegrate from the sheer stupidity and ignorance if they are allowed to take power.
https://t.co/oHv7UTPZIV— John Oberlin (@OMGno2trump) July 22, 2019
Jim Bakker who went to prison is not a moral authority. And this kind of stoking of unrealistic fears should be enough to take him off air.
— REDDOG (Mrs.) 💉😷 🇺🇦🌻 (@ReddogOHIO) June 20, 2019
Jokes aside, the scary thing is that there are people out there that actually believe this type of nonsense, and you had better believe that those people will be coming out in droves to vote in 2020.