On Monday's edition of CNN's "The Situation Room," former Gov. John Kasich, R-Ohio, broke down the racist rant by Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., at former President Donald Trump's Nevada rally this weekend, during which he appeared to equate criminal justice reform with slavery reparations and said Democrats are "pro-crime" because "they think the people who do the crime are owed that."
Kasich, who bucked his party to support President Joe Biden in 2020, connected Tuberville's remarks to the behavior of evangelical voters in the modern GOP — and how they are fracturing American Christianity for the sake of political power.
"What do you think?" asked anchor Wolf Blitzer.
"I think it was outrageous what he had to say. Totally outrageous," said Kasich. "But one thing that bothers me. There is a split in the evangelical community in this country. And I saw where these evangelicals are washing everything away, because now somehow the control of the Senate matters so much."
The pursuit of government control at the expense of Christian values, continued Kasich, is ripping Christian communities apart.
"I happen to be a Christian, okay, and I know the community is split," said Kasich. "Frankly, the evangelical community ought to stay out of politics, and spend their time in the pulpit teaching the lessons and scripture and inviting people in and getting involved in politics and charging their people up. It's a real shame. And yet, it's going to change, and there is a fight inside of the evangelical community about the direction they should go, and politics is not where they belong."
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