Rebecca Bennett, the Democratic nominee for New Jersey’s Seventh Congressional District, said she stopped attending church after Donald Trump’s election because she could not tolerate being around his voters.
Bennett, a former Navy pilot, made the comments at a campaign event in February. She described growing up in the Presbyterian Church and deciding to stop going for the first time after the election while stationed in a conservative area. “I cannot sit in this church full of people who voted for Trump,” Bennett said in audio obtained by The Washington Free Beacon. She added that she later concluded Trump supporters “do not get to decide what Christianity looks like.” Bennett also linked the issue to patriotism. She said supporters of the former president “do not get to wrap yourself in the flag while you are literally murdering Americans in broad daylight.” The remarks came in response to a voter who asked how Bennett planned to use the word “patriot” without appearing to lean right.