Jerry Falwell Jr. asks evangelical leader about criticism of facilities holding migrant children

Evangelical leader Jerry Falwell Jr. defended the Trump administration on Tuesday amid criticism over the conditions migrant children face in US detention centers.

Falwell lashed out at Russell Moore, a theologian and chairman of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, for criticizing the administration following reports of migrant children being held in unsanitary and inadequate conditions.

“Reports on the conditions of migrant children at the border should shock all of our consciences,” Moore said in a tweet Tuesday morning. “People made in the image of God should be treated with dignity and compassion, especially those seeking refuge from violence in their homes. We can do better than that.”

Information about the conditions of migrant children at the border should shock all of our consciences. Those who have been created in the image of God should be treated with dignity and compassion, especially those who seek refuge from violence in their homes. We can do better than that. https://t.co/Cv3AmJgypn

— Russell Moore (@drmoore) June 25, 2019

In a direct response to Moore, Falwell slammed the preacher, asking him at one point in his tweet, “What gives you the power to speak on any issue?”

{mosads}”Who are you @drmoore? Have you ever made a paycheck?” Falwell wrote.

“Have you ever built an organization of any type from scratch?” he added. “What gives you the power to speak on any issue? I’m serious. You are nothing but an employee, a bureaucrat.

Who are you @drmoore ? Have you ever made a payroll? Have you ever built an organization of any type from scratch? What gives you the power to speak on any issue? I’m serious. You are nothing but an employee… a bureaucrat.

—Jerry Falwell (@JerryFalwellJr) June 25, 2019

Falwell’s tweet racked up just over 250 likes on Tuesday night, but the post garnered more than 5,000 replies, most of which were critical of his comments.

Hello, @JerryFalwellJr. As founding pastor of @WOLC I built an organization from scratch (unlike you; I met your dad in the 80s), I did payroll and built buildings, *and* I still have a soul. @drmoore is absolutely right. In the authority of Jesus’ name, I say, repent!

— Brian Zahnd (@BrianZahnd) June 25, 2019

How did Jesus treat children

— elizabeth bruenig (@ebruenig) June 25, 2019

Did Jesus ever make a paycheck?

— Matt Christman (@cushbomb) June 25, 2019

Who are you @JerryFalwellJr? Have you ever cared for the sick? Have you ever welcomed foreigners? What gives you authority to speak on matters of faith? I’m serious. You are nothing but a whitewashed tomb.

— Zack Hunt (@ZaackHunt) June 25, 2019

Falwell, the president of Liberty University, has long been a strong supporter of President Trump and recently used his Twitter platform to advocate for a two-year extension to the president’s current term.

The evangelical leader estimated at the time that Trump should be given two more years in office for what he called “paying back the time stolen by this failed and corrupt coup.”

Falwell’s remarks on detention centers come amid a flurry of reports highlighting the conditions faced by migrant children in detention in the United States.

A doctor who was called to visit a US border facility in McAllen, Texas last week after five infants detained there were placed in neonatal intensive care due to an outbreak of flu compared conditions in the establishments to “torture”.

In her medical statement, the doctor, Dolly Lucio Sevier, wrote that the miners at the McAllen facility were forced to endure “extremely cold temperatures, lights on 24 hours a day, no adequate access to medical care, ‘basic sanitation, water or adequate food’. .”

Trump claimed on Monday that immigration detention centers are better than they were under former President Obama.

“Conditions are much better than they were under President Obama,” Trump said during an exclusive interview with The Hill.