Religious-right pastor James Robison, who has been a key spiritual adviser to and ardent defender of President Donald Trump, declared in an interview posted Wednesday that the current COVID-19 pandemic is the result of Satan having gone "ballistic" in an effort to prevent the reelection of President Donald Trump because Trump was leading the nation into a new spiritual awakening.
Robison was interviewing fellow Trump-loving evangelical leader Samuel Rodriquez about the importance of reelecting Trump when he asserted that various controversies and crises impacting the United States at the moment are the work of Satan.
"We were seeing miraculous answers to prayer," Robison said. "Satan, the father of lies, division, dissension, death, and destruction was losing ground that he had gained. We were beginning to see the value of every life, the importance of loving every person, beginning with God and our neighbors. We were beginning to see the economy become strong again. We were seeing the justice system reformed mightily. We were seeing great change. We were seeing security in our nation becoming stronger, our military to protect freedom and all that is precious becoming strong."
"I'm saying, and I really do believe this, Satan himself, losing ground, went ballistic," he continued. "We were beginning to push back miraculously, and of all things, the last person on the planet we thought would stand up for what's right—this president, Donald J. Trump—began to stand up for what was best. And I personally believe the pandemic, the whole bit, is not just that we were too often vulnerable, but I believe Satan went ballistic and had to stop the progress that was being made because we were glimpsing a spiritual awakening and answered prayer."
"We can't deny the fact that it can't be a coincidence that COVID-19, the social unrest, the melees, all of this takes place in this limited span of time," Rodriquez replied. "What is the enemy so mad about? I agree."
