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Kevin Smith, a pastor at Family Church in West Palm Beach and former executive director of the Baptist Convention of Maryland/Delaware, criticized his fellow pastors for being "wh*res" for former President Donald Trump during a speech he gave on the first day of the annual Southern Baptist Convention.
Smith–not to be confused with the director of the films Clerks and Dogma–said some ministers were guilty of "losing their damn minds" after former President Barack Obama, a Democrat and the first Black President of the United States, was re-elected in 2012.
Smith suggested that Obama's re-election inflamed racism within the Southern Baptist denomination, though he acknowledged that he'd witnessed this metamorphosis following the murder of Trayvon Martin, a Black teenager who was gunned down by a White man and whose death was widely justified by the right-wing in its defense of "stand your ground" laws.
You can hear his remarks in the video below.
Smith said:
"I think some Southern Baptists lost their minds when a Black man was elected President—not all, but some."
"I think some Southern Baptists were unloving to Black people beginning in 2012 with the killing of Trayvon Martin."
"I don’t mean agree about politics or policy… I just mean giving a darn that somebody else is hurting who is supposed to be your brother or sister in Christ, and I think some Southern Baptists just bent over and became political whores with this whole Trump stuff."
Many others agreed with Smith's assessment.
\u201cIt was a matter of time\u2026 someone had to finally call a thing a thing.\u201d— Vanessa Woodard Byers\ud83e\udd8b\u2728 (@Vanessa Woodard Byers\ud83e\udd8b\u2728) 1655828059
\u201cA county founded on hate, lies & thief exposed for it\u2019s perpetual hate, lies & thief. \ud83e\udd14\u201d— WalkerD: we remember those who are important to us (@WalkerD: we remember those who are important to us) 1655803657
\u201cNow THIS is church!\nhttps://t.co/1iId50tVvi\u201d— YouLookMadLOL \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 \ud83c\uddf5\ud83c\uddf8 (@YouLookMadLOL \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 \ud83c\uddf5\ud83c\uddf8) 1655786674
\u201cKevin Smith ain't wrong https://t.co/NydmF6d57m\u201d— The Cosmic Surfer- Antifa Left Coast Command (@The Cosmic Surfer- Antifa Left Coast Command) 1655811937
\u201cPRESS PLAY: Somebody had the balls to say what everybody already knew\n\nhttps://t.co/q4g4FtL1I5\u201d— DeShawn Clemons (@DeShawn Clemons) 1655750770
\u201cThe Republicans are doing Putin's work.\nThis is the worst petting zoo anyone ever visited.\u201d— Dr. E. Michael Harrington (pro-Ukraine \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) (@Dr. E. Michael Harrington (pro-Ukraine \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6)) 1655770902
\u201cThe guilty can't handle the truth and the rest will be silent.\n#sbc2022\u201d— Where is that Alternate Universe (@Where is that Alternate Universe) 1655788675
\u201cToo often some Christians throw the teachings of Christ to the wind when it comes to race matters. https://t.co/MNMZgXWGvC\u201d— Attorney Josephine Smalls Miller (@Attorney Josephine Smalls Miller) 1655823906
\u201c@SBCPastorsConf Moving from an SBC affiliated church to a Bible church was the best thing that happened to my faith. No Dem should set foot in an SBC. Kevin Smith spoke truth to your convention, and you should examine where his heart speaks from.\u201d— keith montgomery (@keith montgomery) 1655778792
Southern Baptist churches are evangelical in doctrine and practice and evangelicals have been described as a "key cog" of Trump's political base.
Evangelicals played a major role in delivering Trump the presidency in 2016 and Trump, who countless sources have alleged he is all but certain to commit to a 2024 run, has "continued contact with white evangelical Christian leaders in phone calls and regular meetings at Mar-a-Lago."