Over the weekend, outgoing Secretary of Energy Rick Perry sat down with Fox & Friends host Ed Henry to share his belief that Donald Trump, a thrice-married serial philanderer accused by multiple women of sexual assault, is God's "chosen one," echoing language Trump has previously used to describe himself. " 'If you're a believing Christian, you understand God's plan for the people who rule and judge over us on this planet and our government,' " he says he told the president.

Perry, who announced his resignation from Trump's cabinet back in October, acknowledged that although the man who appointed him is not "perfect," God has "used imperfect people all through history" to carry out his will. In what is likely a first for the official in charge of America's nuclear-weapons arsenal, Perry revealed that he had even authored a memorandum comparing Trump to Old Testament kings Saul, David, and Solomon in order to drive home the point.

Afterward, Henry noted that lest "people on the left" attack Perry for this position, Perry believes Barack Obama was sent by God, too—"for that moment and that time," Henry explained. But "for this moment and this time," the host added, Perry believes "Donald Trump was sent by God to do great things."

Perry's view of Trump has evolved considerably since July 2015, when he called his then rival for the GOP presidential nomination a "cancer on conservatism" that "cannot be pacified or ignored," and instead must be "clearly diagnosed, excised, and discarded." This proclamation came a day after Trump roasted Perry on the campaign trail, telling supporters that the former Texas governor "put glasses on so people will think he's smart," and that it "just doesn't work."

"The White House has been occupied by giants," said Perry, who remains the only cabinet member in history to have appeared on ABC's Dancing with the Stars. (As a former White House press secretary, recent DWTS also-ran Sean Spicer doesn't count.) "But from time to time, it is sought by the small-minded: divisive figures, propelled by anger, appealing to the worst instincts in the human condition." He went on to opine that Trump "offers a barking carnival act that can best be described as 'Trumpism': a toxic mix of demagoguery and mean-spiritedness and nonsense."