Self-proclaimed Christian nationalist podcaster Joshua Haymes interviewed far-right Christian nationalist Florida gubernatorial candidate James Fishback last week. The two agreed that the U.S. was founded “by Christians and for Christians,” and Fishback said that he would have a duty to promote Christianity as governor.
Fishback said he would make classes on the Bible mandatory in Florida schools, though he did not embrace Haymes’ call for the government to suppress “demonic false religions,” saying he believes it is more effective to evangelize Christianity rather than censor its competitors. He called for a moratorium on immigration to keep “foreign ideas” out of the country.
Haymes staked out his Christian nationalist position early in the interview:
I believe that our nation was founded by Christians and for Christians, and I believe that our civil magistrates have a responsibility, a duty before God, to promote true religion, which is to say Christian religion, and to demote, and even in some cases suppress, demonic false religions.
Fishback responded:
We are called to fully obey our Lord and Savior. Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, the life. Not one way of many, not one truth of many, he is the only singular path to redemption and salvation. Now, how do you actually form a government based around that? Well this is actually not something new, Joshua. This is something to restore…I call myself a restorationist.
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You have to, one, change the laws where possible. And two, you have to unapologetically profess and obey your faith, publicly and privately.
Fishback, who previously vowed to burn down every abortion clinic in the state, steered the conversation to how he would use his power as governor to abolish abortion without bothering to work through the state legislature:
I don’t want to reform abortion. I don’t want to regulate abortion. I want to abolish abortion and I will as governor. And I’m not persuaded by this, ‘Well, we must coalition build’ and ‘We must reach across the aisle’ and ‘What bill, what are you going to do with the legislature?’ I’m gonna do nothing with the legislature. If there was an old folks’ home that was killing a hundred people a day, I wouldn’t go run down to the legislature and say, ‘Let’s draft up a bill in a subcommittee. Let’s have a hearing in three weeks. Let’s build a bipartisan consensus.’ No, I’d send the National Guard in there to shut the place down. And I will not hesitate to do whatever it takes to abolish abortion in Florida, and Joshua, it will be enough.
Haymes returned the conversation to Christian nationalism, asking, “Do you believe that you have a responsibility to promote the Christian faith over other, what I would say, false religions?” Fishback replied, “I do, as a Christian, I believe I have that responsibility and when and where possible I want to evangelize, whether I’m governor or not, before or after office, I’m going to work to bring more people to the only one true God, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”
“First and foremost, I appreciate that you understand that we are a Christian nation, and we were a nation founded not just by Christians, but for Christians,” Haymes said.” I believe that. Would you push back on that? Would you basically agree with that?”
“I agree with that entirely,” Fishback said.
Haymes claimed that James Madison would have thought that “the Constitution was really not meant to govern a secular, pluralistic, multicultural hellscape that we seem to be becoming.”
“The Constitution is as true today as it was in 1787 when it was drafted in Philadelphia,” Fishback said. “But what has changed is our people have become more secular. Our society has become more pluralistic. And we’ve imported foreign nations, foreign ideas, and foreign allegiances that are not consistent with our constitutional principles…And I don’t think we can revive the United States as we know it if we’re not willing to unequivocally and singularly commit to Christianity.”