Pastor Ralph Drollinger, who has led Bible studies for Congress and the White House for the last few years, recently blamed gay people, environmentalists, and atheists for the spread of COVID-19.

Now, the White House is attempting to distance itself — and Donald Trump — from Drollinger and his Capitol Ministries after a particularly vitriolic blog post.

The Christian Post reports:

On March 21, Drollinger wrote a post titled “Is God Judging America Today?” In the post, Drollinger contends that since God is just, “sin must and will be paid for.” He adds that “wrath” is “an inevitable consequence.” … Drollinger’s post goes on to list “five identifiers” of “forsaking wrath.” One of the five identifiers highlighted by Drollinger is “A Sensation Toward Homosexuality.”

Judd Deere, the Deputy White House Press Secretary, attempted to clear the air by claiming that Trump has “no higher priority” the health and well-being of all Americans. The words ring hollow, however, considering Trump filled his cabinet with some of the most anti-LGBTQ people this country has ever seen.

Deere went on to say that Trump no longer attends Drollinger’s Bible study — what a shock — and does not share Drollinger’s beliefs. Great. Then why does he stand back and allow the Christian Right to roll back LGBTQ rights as much as possible? The concern was never that Trump would be persuaded by Drollinger, but rather that Trump’s administration is full of people who can be. (It’s telling that there’s not even a cursory effort to distance Mike Pence from Drollinger’s bigotry.)

If God is judging America today, there are far worse things to be punished for than legalizing same-sex marriages. Like a healthcare system that lets people die because they don’t have insurance. Or putting refugee kids in cages. Drollinger never seems very concerned about those, though.

