In an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network's David Brody on Monday, Ted Cruz said that conservative voters should back him over Donald Trump because "for seven years, we've had a president in the White House who has had a messiah complex."
Cruz went on to credit his presidential campaign with sparking a national movement to "bring this country back" and create "a spirit of revival" that's "sweeping this country."
"I fear for America," he said. "If we keep on this path there comes a point of no return and my prayer is that this awakening continues, that the body of Christ rise up to pull us back from the abyss."
After mentioning how campaigning has been "humbling," Cruz said that "we are going to, together with God's blessing and grace, pull America back from the abyss and it is this election that makes the difference." He then urged people who oppose gay marriage and abortion rights to back him in the Iowa caucuses.
After the interview with Brody, Cruz spoke to a pastors' event sponsored by right-wing extremist David Lane, where he told attendees that "the federal government daily wages a war on life, on marriage, on religious liberty, on the Judeo-Christian values that built this country."
He also urged pastors to "sound the alarm" and to make sure that "every member of your congregation will show up and caucus and caucus for someone who defends biblical values."
Cruz was very clear about who that someone might be: "If everyone in this room ensures that every member of your congregation comes out in votes in the Iowa caucus and votes for our values, we will win one week from today."
