A Northern Virginia pastor who prayed for Donald Trump during the president’s apparently impromptu Sunday visit to the McLean Bible Church is defending his actions amid controversy among the congregation. In a statement released later on Sunday, Rev. David Platt called the situation one he “didn’t see coming,” saying that he was notified at the end of his afternoon sermon that Trump would be arriving within minutes and had requested the prayer. A White House spokesman said one reason for Trump’s stop was to offer prayer for the victims of Friday’s mass shooting in Virginia Beach, Virginia. But Platt’s prayer offered no mention of that massacre, in which a gunman killed 12 people before being slain by police.

Source: Huffington Post June 03, 2019 23:03 UTC