Mark Burns, a MAGA pastor and reported spiritual adviser to President Donald Trump, declared in an interview on Tuesday that “it doesn’t matter” the president “grabbed” women and bragged about it.

After New Yorker staff writer Isaac Chotiner criticized some of Trump’s behavior during an interview with Burns, the pastor responded, “Well, I think that it could be said about all of us. I mean, Isaac, you have things in your closet that you pray never show up on CNN. There are things that you’ve done that you pray to God never become a New Yorker story.”

“That’s interesting, but I haven’t grabbed women against their will and bragged about it,” shot back Chotiner. “Or posted a video of the Obamas as apes. So maybe there’s a sliding scale of what people do and how we should judge them?”

Burns then argued, “Ultimately, God is our judge, not people. And we may have a sliding scale, as you say, in man’s law, because it is true, murder is way more dangerous and carries heavier weights than jaywalking or eating too much. Gluttony is just as much a sin as murder, but in the eyes of man, murder carries way more weight, and it should be handled the way that the word of God says it should be handled. But in the eyes of God, who is our ultimate judge, God is a God of forgiveness. God is a God of love. So, having said that, it doesn’t matter what President Trump has done in his past.”

“It doesn’t matter?” pressed Chotiner, to which Burns replied, “It doesn’t matter in the eyes of the Lord, and apparently, it doesn’t really matter to the eyes of the American voters because they voted for him and made him President twice. Many would argue three times.”

Earlier this year, after Trump receieved backlash for posting a video which featured former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama as a pair of apes, Burns issued a statement blaming a rogue employee of the president.

“I just spoke directly with President Trump regarding the offensive Obama ape video that circulated online,” said Burns. “The President assured me clearly and unequivocally that he did not post it. He understands the painful and racist history in America of depicting African Americans as apes, a tactic long used by white supremacists to demean Black intelligence and humanity. He knows this is wrong, offensive, and unacceptable.”

He continued, “The President made it clear to me that this post was made by a staffer and not by him. My recommendation to the President was direct and firm. That staffer should be fired immediately, and the President should publicly condemn this action. This kind of insensitive and racist communication does not reflect the heart, values, or leadership of the President of the United States, nor does it represent the America we are striving to build.”

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