Earlier this month, Indiana’s far-right Christian nationalist Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith appeared on far-right broadcaster Steve Deace's program to discuss his first six months in office.
Deace opened the interview by asking Beckwith to describe the biggest difference between being an elected official and a pastor, which is a position Beckwith held before taking office.
"I don't think there is much," replied Beckwith. "I always tell people listen, [while wearing] my pastoral hat, I find out what God says about things and I tell people; as a politician, my job is to find out what God says about things and to tell people."
"A pastor's job is to shepherd the flock, to protect the flock, defend the flock from evil," he continued. "A politician's job is the same way. You look at King David, he was a shepherd and the Lord raised him up to be king and and he did very similar things—he protected the innocent from evil. And you look at Xerxes, you know, Esther walks into Xerxes' presence and he extends the scepter. Well, that scepter is the rod that kings or shepherds would carry. Shepherds would carry a rod to defend the flock from the wolf, and that was symbolic for, as a king, I defend the people from evil."
"I think politicians have that same mantle and anointing to do the same," Beckwith declared. "So it's very similar. I don't see a whole lot of difference between being a pastor and a politician."
