Jerry Falwell Jr. questions evangelical leader over criticism of facilities holding migrant children

Evangelical leader Jerry Falwell Jr. on Tuesday defended the Trump administration amid criticism over conditions migrant children have faced in U.S. detention facilities.

Falwell lashed out at Russell Moore, a theologian and president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, for criticizing the administration following reports of detained migrant children held in unsanitary and inadequate conditions.

“The reports of the conditions for migrant children at the border should shock all of our consciences,” Moore said in a tweet Tuesday morning. “Those created in the image of God should be treated with dignity and compassion, especially those seeking refuge from violence back home. We can do better than this.”

The reports of the conditions for migrant children at the border should shock all of our consciences. Those created in the image of God should be treated with dignity and compassion, especially those seeking refuge from violence back home. We can do better than this. https://t.co/Cv3AmJgypn

— Russell Moore (@drmoore) June 25, 2019

In a direct response to Moore, Falwell criticized the preacher, asking him at one point in his tweet: “What gives you authority to speak on any issue?”

{mosads}“Who are you @drmoore? Have you ever made a payroll?” Falwell wrote.

“Have you ever built an organization of any type from scratch?” he added. “What gives you authority to speak on any issue? I’m being serious. You’re nothing but an employee- a bureaucrat.”

Who are you @drmoore ? Have you ever made a payroll? Have you ever built an organization of any type from scratch? What gives you authority to speak on any issue? I’m being serious. You’re nothing but an employee- a bureaucrat.

— Jerry Falwell (@JerryFalwellJr) June 25, 2019

Falwell’s tweet racked up a little more than 250 likes as of Tuesday evening, but the post garnered more than 5,000 replies, the bulk of which criticized his comments.

Hello, @JerryFalwellJr. As the founding pastor of @WOLC I’ve built an organization from scratch (unlike you; I met your dad back in the 80s), I’ve made payroll & built buildings, *and* I still have a soul. @drmoore is entirely right. In the authority of Jesus’ name I say, repent!

— Brian Zahnd (@BrianZahnd) June 25, 2019

How did Jesus treat children

— elizabeth bruenig (@ebruenig) June 25, 2019

Did Jesus ever make a payroll though?

— Matt Christman (@cushbomb) June 25, 2019

Who are you @JerryFalwellJr? Have you ever cared for the sick? Have you ever welcomed the stranger? What gives you authority to speak on issues of faith? I’m being serious. You’re nothing but a white washed tomb.

— Zack Hunt (@ZaackHunt) June 25, 2019

Falwell, the president of Liberty University, has long been a staunch supporter of President Trump and recently used his platform on Twitter to advocate for a two-year extension of the president’s current term.

The evangelical leader reasoned at the time that Trump should have two years added to his term for what he called “pay back for time stolen by this corrupt failed coup.”

Falwell’s remarks about the detention facilities come amid a wave of reports highlighting the conditions migrant children face in U.S. custody.

A physician who was called to visit a U.S. border facility in McAllen, Texas, last week after five infants held there were placed in neonatal intensive care due to a flu outbreak compared conditions at the facilities to “torture.”

In her medical declaration, the physician, Dolly Lucio Sevier, wrote that minors at the McAllen facility were forced to endure “extreme cold temperatures, lights on 24 hours a day, no adequate access to medical care, basic sanitation, water, or adequate food.”

Trump on Monday asserted that migrant detention facilities are better than they were under former President Obama.

“The conditions are much better than they were under President Obama,” Trump said during an exclusive interview with The Hill.