'Never utter those words again': Christian lawmaker blasts Trump for saying 'Goddamn' twice in rally speech - and tells him in scathing letter that his 'comments were not presidential'

  • Christians have put the president on blast for his use of profanity otherwise missed in the media frenzy of his controversial Greenville rally on Wednesday
  • Senator Paul Hardesty of West Virginia’s seventh district has voiced his outrage at Trump’s lapse use of ‘goddamn’ twice during his address
  • Apparently so incensed by his employment of 'blasphemous' language, Hardesty penned a letter to the White House admonishing Trump's language
  • Saying: ‘[I’m] appalled by the fact that you chose to use the Lord’s name in vain on two separate occasions, when you went off the prompter during your speech' 
  • Trump’s Wednesday night Greenville rally drew media attention and outrage in equal measures, after Trump took aim at Ilhan Omar, AOC and the 'squad'

When Donald Trump spoke at North Carolina rally on Wednesday night it was the controversial ‘send her back’ crowd chants aimed at Congressional Freshman Ilhan Omar that dominated the headlines, but a Christian lawmaker has put the president on blast for his use of profanity otherwise missed in the media frenzy.

Senator Paul Hardesty of West Virginia’s seventh district has voiced his outrage at Trump’s lapse use of the term ‘goddamn’ twice during his address, accusing the president of using ‘the lord’s name in vain’.

Apparently so incensed by his employment of 'blasphemous' language, Hardesty penned a letter to the White House admonishing Trump for his ‘terrible choice of words’ in Greenville.

‘[I’m] appalled by the fact that you chose to use the Lord’s name in vain on two separate occasions, when you went off the prompter during your speech,’ Hardesty wrote. 

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Christians have put the president on blast for his use of profanity that some are calling 'blasphemous'

Christians have put the president on blast for his use of profanity that some are calling 'blasphemous'

When Donald Trump spoke at North Carolina rally on Wednesday night it was the controversial ¿send her back¿ crowd chants aimed at Congressional Freshman Ilhan Omar that dominated the headlines
but Senator Paul Hardesty  has voiced his outrage at Trump¿s lapse use of ¿goddamn¿ twice during his address

When Donald Trump spoke at North Carolina rally on Wednesday night it was the controversial ‘send her back’ crowd chants aimed at Congressional Freshman Ilhan Omar that dominated the headlines, but Senator Paul Hardesty (right) has voiced his outrage at Trump’s lapse use of ‘goddamn’ twice during his address

‘There is no place in society — anywhere, any place and at any time — where that type of language should be used or handled. Your comments were not presidential,’ he continued.

The devout Christian added that as a conservative Democrat he supports Trump’s pro-coal policies, but concluded the note by urging Trump to reflect on his comments and refrain from cursing in future speeches.

‘Please remember Mr. President, in the United States of America, ‘In God We Trust,’ not curse,’ he signed off.

During the rally Trump first used the phrase ‘goddamn’ in an anecdote he shared with the crowd about a former business rival, who has since told him he’s thriving under the Trump administration, according to the president.

Senator Paul Hardesty of West Virginia¿s seventh district has voiced his outrage at Trump¿s lapse use of ¿goddamn¿ twice during his address, accusing the president of using ¿the lord¿s name in vain¿

Senator Paul Hardesty of West Virginia’s seventh district has voiced his outrage at Trump’s lapse use of ‘goddamn’ twice during his address, accusing the president of using ‘the lord’s name in vain’

‘If you don’t support me, you are going to be so Goddamn poor, you are not going to believe it,’ Trump recalled telling the man.

The second use of the term came in reference to the currently terse relations between Iran and the US, where threatened the Middle-Eastern country with military conflict should their perceived provocation continue.

While Hardesty’s words to the president were stern, other critics of Trump’s choice of language pulled even less punches online, with one commenter on FreeRepublic.com accusing him of ‘blaspheming’ and ‘mocking’ God, warning him of imminent retribution.

‘It will not matter if you are a street sweeper or the leader of the greatest Republic on earth......GOD will drop you like a stone,’ the commenter said.

On Wednesday, Trump’s Greenville rally drew media attention and outrage in equal measures, after he took aim at Ilhan Omar, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and the members of 'squad', prompting the crowd to erupt into a chant of ‘send her back, send her back’.

During the rally Trump first used the phrase ¿goddamn¿ in an anecdote he shared with the crowd about a former business rival, who has since told him he¿s thriving under the Trump administration, according to the president. The second use of the term came in reference to the currently terse relations between Iran and the US, where threatened the Middle-Eastern country with military conflict should their provocation continue.

During the rally Trump first used the phrase ‘goddamn’ in an anecdote he shared with the crowd about a former business rival, who has since told him he’s thriving under the Trump administration, according to the president. The second use of the term came in reference to the currently terse relations between Iran and the US, where threatened the Middle-Eastern country with military conflict should their provocation continue.

While the president raged against all four lawmakers who make up the squad individually - and railed against several of the Democratic presidential contenders - it was Omar, who is a frequent target of his ire, who bore the brunt of his criticism.

Trump accused Omar of blaming terrorists attacks on our country just hours after igniting a debate over rumors she was married to her brother.

'She smeared U.S. Service members involved in Black Hawk Down,' he said, referring to the failed 1993 raid in Mogadishu by the U.S. military.

'In other words, she slandered the brave Americans were trying to keep peace in Somalia. Omar minimized the September 11th attacks on our homeland saying some people did something,' he added.

Outside the White House earlier that day he said, 'I hear that she was married to her brother,' repeating claims which have swirled around Omar since her 2016 campaign.

A Somali blog first accused her of marrying her brother and of being a bigamist. It prompted her to issue statements which have not helped in disproving the claims.

And, he charged, 'Omar has a history of launching vicious anti-Semitic' attacks. 'She talked about the evil is real, and it's all about the Benjamin's,' Trump charged.

All four women are racial minorities and three of them were born in the United States. Omar was born in Mogadishu but she and her family left the country in 1990 to escape the war there. She became a U.S. citizen at the age of 17 and was one of the first Muslim women elected to Congress.

U.S. Reps Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) hold a news conference on Trump's attacks this week

U.S. Reps Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) hold a news conference on Trump's attacks this week 

Trump used past controversial comments the congresswoman against her during his speech, referring to her suggestion last March that some supporters of Israel were in it for the money, tweeting it was 'all about the Benjamins.'

He also accused her of attempting to undermine the tragedy of 9/11 when she noted a Muslim group was formed in its wake 'because they recognized that some people did something and that all of us were starting to lose access to our civil liberties.'

Omar told CBS News in an interview that aired Wednesday she didn't regret her past comments but emphasized she is not anti-Semitic.

And she responded to his comments at his rally by tweeting a verse from the poet Maya Angelou: 'You may shoot me with your words, You may cut me with your eyes, You may kill me with your hatefulness, But still, like air, I'll rise. -Maya Angelou'

She then tweeted a photo of herself presiding over the House chamber with the words: ''I am where I belong, at the people’s house and you’re just gonna have to deal!'

Former first lady Michelle Obama also weighed in to voice her support of Omar on Friday.

'What truly makes our country great is its diversity. I've seen that beauty in so many ways over the years,’ she began.

'Whether we are born here or seek refuge here, there's a place for us all. We must remember it's not my America or your America. It's our America,' she continued.

Trump renewed his criticism of four on Friday, saying that they had said horrible things about the United States, and defended himself from criticism over his comment that they should leave the United States if unhappy.

A day after saying his audience at a campaign rally in North Carolina went too far in chanting 'Send her back!' about Somalia-born Representative Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Trump on Friday defended the crowd members as 'incredible patriots.'

Trump, talking to reporters on the White House South Lawn prior to a weekend visit to his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, agreed that the four have a constitutionally protected freedom of speech, but that he has the right to respond.

'Yeah, they have First Amendment rights, but that doesn't mean I'm happy about them,' he said. 'And again, we have First Amendment rights also - we can certainly feel what and say what we want.'