Pastor Robert Jeffress denied the allegations that he called Joe Biden as the "president-elect." He defended himself by claiming that it was Fox News who selected the title used for his Op-Ed.
On a Twitter update posted Nov. 12, Dr. Robert Jeffress, conservative pastor of First Baptist Dallas, said that he did not choose the title for his Op-Ed posted in Fox News. Instead, the publication selected the headline.
In a follow-up tweet, Jeffress appealed to the public not to believe in false media reports saying he broke away from supporting President Donald Trump. He said that his support completely goes out to Trump.
A part of his social media update clarified that the country does not have a 'president-elect" until Dec. 14. It is because they have to wait for the Electoral College to declare who the winner is.
Jeffress was responding to the allegations that surfaced on the internet about his Fox News Op-Ed headline. The title says "Pastor Robert Jeffress: Biden is president-elect - how should Christians respond?" It was published Nov. 8.
After the publication of his article, news from news outlets came out one after the other. Each of them expressed different reactions to the pastor's headline.
UPROXX, a popular culture news website, featured Jeffress's headline saying that even he as a Pro-Trump Evangelical pastor wants the president to concede. A headline from ABC News published an article highlighting his headline, citing him as a Trump Evangelical supporter who now calls Biden as the "president-elect."
Pastor Jeffress's Op-Ed
In an interview, Jeffress elaborated that Fox News asked him to write an article on how Christians should respond at the turn out of the 2020 US elections. The news outlet gave the instruction after Biden got the majority of the votes in Pennsylvania.
He added that he is not calling this election in any although they are seeing a most likely Joe Biden victory outcome.
In his Op-Ed, the Pro-Trump Evangelical leader urged Christians to pray fervently for the president. If Biden wins, he should be commended for the things he does right and should be condemned for the wrong things he does.
He emphasized that God remains sovereign, reigning on His throne and over every part of the universe. He said that this is the time for Christians to remain constant and display the consistency of Christian witness to the world.
If Biden becomes the 46th President of the United States, it is the time to prove that Christians are not hypocrites, he said. He closed the piece with a phrase saying "If President Biden succeeds, we all succeed."
A Pro-Trump Evangelical Leader
In the 2016 Republican presidential primary campaign, Jeffress was one of the prominent church leaders to first show support to US President Donald Trump. He expressed his support towards the president even in his contributions to Fox News and Fox Business,.
In August, he stated that evangelicals who will vote for Biden are those who sold their souls to the devil. However, polls revealed that less white evangelicals voted for Trump this election than those who did in 2016.
