President Donald Trump’s spiritual adviser has forgiven his past sexual misconduct and comments about violating women, claiming it “doesn’t matter” because Trump has been forgiven in the eyes of God.

In an interview with The New Yorker, Mark Burns — a senior pastor at the Harvest Praise & Worship Center in South Carolina and longtime Trump supporter — spoke with writer Isaac Chotiner on Tuesday (May 12).

The conversation focused on the topics related to Trump’s recent religious controversies, such as the unveiling of a 22-foot golden statue of Trump at Trump National Doral Miami golf club that some have suggested is a form of idol worship, and his past of sexual misconduct allegations from numerous women.

In 2023, Trump was found guilty by a New York jury of having sexually abused and defamed writer and columnist E. Jean Carroll.

A report from The Guardian last year lists accusations from over 20 women between 1993 and 2013, including his former spouse, Ivanka Trump, all of which Trump has denied.

Trump reportedly also bragged that he was free to “grab [women] by the p****” in a recorded conversation with Access Hollywood host Billy Bush in 2005, obtained by The Washington Post.

While Burns appeared to acknowledge Trump’s past in the interview, he told Chotiner that he cannot judge Trump’s actions because “God is our judge.”

“It seems like sometimes Trump’s allies or supporters say the negative claims about Trump are lies or smears. But what you seem to be saying is not that Trump didn’t do any of these things in his past, but that he did, and that’s O.K., or maybe not O.K., but that God works in mysterious ways and can use Trump to lead the country nevertheless. Is that accurate?” Chotiner asked.

Burns replied that there are things we all have done that we “pray to God never become a New Yorker story”.

“That’s interesting,” Chotiner replied. “But I haven’t grabbed women against their will and bragged about it, or posted a video of the Obamas as apes. So maybe there’s a sliding scale of what people do and how we should judge them?”

“Ultimately, God is our judge, not people,” Burns added. “Gluttony is just as much a sin as murder, but in the eyes of man, murder carries way more weight, and it should be handled the way that the word of God says it should be handled. But in the eyes of God, who is our ultimate judge, God is a God of forgiveness. God is a God of love. So, having said that, it doesn’t matter what President Trump has done in his past.”

Burns oversaw the unveiling ceremony for the golden statue, per The New Yorker, and claimed Trump had “nothing to do with” the statue after being asked whether it was a form of idol worship, which is specifically against one of the Ten Commandments.

“I think you can make anything an idol, whether it be your job, money, your wife or your husband, anything you put more importantly before God. This statue was no different from a Michael Jordan statue,” Burns said. “I’m very close to the President, but I don’t know anybody in my circle who worships or honors Donald Trump as a god or any kind of deity.”

Burns took to social media on May 6 to defend the statue, claiming it was not a golden calf and that “We worship the Lord Jesus Christ and Him alone.”

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