Son of late popular TV evangelist and Pastor, Jerry Falwell, Jerry Falwell Jr. thinks the obsession of tech companies with fact-checking US President, Donald Trump as well the censorship of liberal voices on social media platforms will not end well for the tech companies.
Granting a rare magazine interview, Falwell who is a strong supporter of Donald Trump just like father was a strong supporter of Ronald Reagan gave several pieces of legal advice to the man he describes as his second favourite president of all time after George Washington.
In a question and answer session with Newsweek magazine, Falwell defended Trump’s visit of St John’s Church, burned down by protesters as well as the apparent hatred of Trump by the main stream media which he accuses of churning out lies and painting false narratives.
He confirmed that he was indeed still in support of Donald Trump despite the George Floyd Black Lives Matter protests across the United States.
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He affirmed that Trump is loved by the Evangelicals in the United States because he is a businessman which means he will always do what is best for his organisation irrespective of opposition. He believes this is what Trump has done during his time in office.
“He’s a businessman, and CEOs have ingrained in them a fiduciary responsibility to do what’s in the best interest of the organization they lead. I thought that no matter what his politics were, he’d do what’s in the best interest of average Americans, and my bet has paid off.”
When asked if Trump has done anything he didn’t like so far, he said;
“I can’t think of anything. He’s been the best president ever, except for George Washington, because my wife is related to George Washington. Trump has surpassed Ronald Reagan because he’s not afraid to change his mind. Trump is not a traditional politician, while Reagan was. Our founders wanted citizen legislators who were successful in the private sector, and we need more of that.”
He thereafter alleged that some Governors had plans to hurt small businesses in their state when asked what advice he would give to Trump on coronavirus.
“Some governors have a hidden agenda; they really want to hurt small businesses. He could bring lawsuits on constitutional grounds because freedoms are being violated, and I wish that would happen quickly. All the draconian efforts and overreactions from blue-state governors—only the Justice Department can get them under control.”
He expressed the fact that being hated like President Trump means he is making an impact which is good. He praised Trump for having the guts to say what he actually thinks saying the US President gives lukewarm republicans some spine.
When asked about how Trump is handling the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the murder of George Floyd, He described it as sheer murder;
“That was plain and simple murder. There’s 800,000 cops and a handful of bad ones and four of them happened to be on the scene that day. They need to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, like anyone else would be. Trump is being tough on rioters, like he needs to be.”
He thereafter said the mainstream media is on its way out when asked about how he feels on the way himself and other Evangelicals are portrayed in the media.
“It’s a shame that traditional newspapers are so stressed financially because the world has moved to the Internet. It’s all about click bait…the mainstream media is on its way out and they’re in desperation on the way down.”
Falwell said further that the United States would spiral downwards if Joe Biden were to win the November presidential election.
“We might lose the country; we might become socialist. Biden is way past his prime— he’s old school but becoming more liberal because that’s the trend for Democrats. In his efforts to move that direction, he could take the country off the ledge. With Democrats in control, they’d try to install European-style socialism, or Venezuelan-style, which is where it always ends up.”
He thereafter spoke on Trump’s tweets and its effect on mainstream media. He said the media was mad at the president because just like Reagan, Trump has found a way to circumvent the media and get his message across without distortion.
“Not at all. If it wasn’t for him tweeting, the mainstream media would control the narrative, and they hate him. He’s going around the press like Ronald Reagan used to do. Twitter is the best option the press left him with, and he’s got the boldness to use it,” He said.
He also went ahead to say it would be the beginning of the end for Twitter if they decide to shut down the president’s account.
“They’ll do so at their own peril. There would be antitrust lawsuits like you’ve never seen. I think there might be anyways, and I hope there are, because big tech is made up of a bunch of millennial snowflakes raised in an era when everyone got a trophy whether they won or not.”
He concluded by speaking on President Trump’s visit to the burnt out St. John’s church near the White House which the mainstream media labelled as a photo op.
“I spoke in that church the morning of Trump’s inauguration. In the front row was President and Mrs. Trump and President and Mrs. Carter. It was built in 1816 and Abraham Lincoln used to sit in the vestibule because he’d have spent his whole day talking to people if they saw him. If there’s any place in the country where it’s appropriate to hold a Bible while speaking about violence, it’s there. It’s a sacred part of America’s religious history, and it’s nicknamed the “Church of Presidents.” When Trump spoke at Liberty University, he sent me photos of himself as a boy at Sunday school. He’s never suggested that he’s anything other than a Christian, and I’m happy to see any president express their faith.”