It’s too early (and still very unlikely) to say that televangelist Pat Robertson has joined #TheResistance, but he’s not very happy with Donald Trump at the moment.

On yesterday’s episode of The 700 Club, he said he was “appalled” that Trump was withdrawing U.S. troops from northern Syria, leaving our allies, the Kurds, to fend for themselves against more powerful Turkish forces. (The Kurds have long helped the U.S. fight ISIS.)

Even beyond that, though, Robertson said Trump would lose a rather unusual mandate…

Pat Robertson is "appalled" by Trump's decision to withdraw U.S. troops from northern Syria: "The President of the United States is in great danger of losing the mandate of Heaven if he permits this to happen." pic.twitter.com/YGeNYpbGrF — Right Wing Watch (@RightWingWatch) October 7, 2019

… I want to say right now, I am absolutely appalled the United States is going to betray those democratic forces in northern Syria, that we possibly are going to allow the Turkish to come in against the Kurds… Erdoğan is a thug. He has taken control of his country as a dictator. He is a strong leader and a… you say he is an ally of America is nonsense. He is in for himself. And the president who allowed Khashoggi to be cut in pieces, without any repercussions whatsoever, is now allowing the Christians and the Kurds to be massacred by the Turks. And I believe — and I want to say this with great solemnity — the president of the United States is in danger of losing the mandate of Heaven if he permits this to happen.

It’s good that Robertson is “appalled” by Trump’s actions against a thuggish dictator. But given what we’ve learned (or should have by now) from history, the behavior of our own president — turning people against the media, disregarding facts, inciting violence against minorities and journalists — isn’t exactly a far cry from that. Where’s the outrage against Trump before this week?

Also, I’ve been a Christian my entire adult life and studied at seminary. While Confucius talked about it, I have never heard of this “mandate of Heaven” as it concerns the faith. I’m not alone.

I spent decades in evangelicalism, went to an evangelical college and an evangelical seminary. But I’m not sure what the “mandate of Heaven” is. https://t.co/tEmjghjfjy — Jonathan Merritt (@JonathanMerritt) October 7, 2019

But even if such a thing exists, why would Trump be in danger of losing it now? Were the sexual assault allegations, the family separation policy, the cages for children, the cozying up with white supremacists, and the more recent quid pro quo allegations not enough?

(via Right Wing Watch)

