Pastor Greg Locke Criticized for Defending Trump by Calling Stormy Daniels a 'Hooker'
Pastor Greg Locke of Global Vision Bible Church in Mount Juliet, Tennessee has garnered controversy for a social media post in which he defended President Donald Trump by calling porn star Stormy Daniels a "hooker."
On a Sunday episode of "60 Minutes," Daniels advanced her claims that President Trump had had an affair with her back in 2006 while he was married to Melania.
"The funny thing is @realDonaldTrump is still the President and she's still a hooker. #StormyDanielsDay," tweeted Locke on Sunday afternoon.
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While Locke's comment on Daniels received as of Monday afternoon nearly 800 likes, it also garnered criticism from many individuals, including Weekly Standard Editor Bill Kristol.
"The funny thing is that in our fallen world, porn stars can sometimes demonstrate better character than self-styled pastors," tweeted Kristol, getting well over 9,000 likes.
Daniel Bennett, political science professor at the Arkansas-based John Brown University, also denounced Locke's tweet about Daniels.
"It's easy to write this off as a misguided pastor, but it's harder to grapple earnestly with how detrimental this is to the Gospel. This is how some see the church. Very troubling," posted Bennett.
Time Magazine political correspondent Phil Elliott posted Locke's quote on Twitter, commenting that "I had to check. This is not a parody account. Jesus, take the wheel."
Recently, Stephanie Clifford, known professionally as Stormy Daniels, garnered headlines for her claim that she had had an affair with Trump and that during the 2016 election, a Trump lawyer paid her $130,000 to keep silent.
According to Daniels, she and Trump began their affair in July 2006 at American Century celebrity golf tournament in which Trump invited the porn star into his room and they had what she later described as "textbook generic" sex.
In 2011, Daniels passed a lie-detector test when asked about her affair with Trump, according to a document published by CNN on Mar. 20.
In response to the criticism, Locke has doubled down on his comments, labeling his critics as "liberals" who are "fake moral freedom fighters" who "have selective outrage" because they have not been as critical of former President Bill Clinton's alleged and admitted extramarital affairs.
"Let me get this straight, we can say all manner of evil slanderous gossip about the leader of the free world with no respect to his office but be critical of a porn star and you're the bad guy? Haha. Carry on Liberals," added Locke.
Earlier this month, a brawl broke out while Locke was overseeing a revival service at Benchmark Church in Oliver Springs after critics heckled Locke due to him having recently separated from his wife.
Sources from Locke's church reportedly told the website Pulpit & Pen that he recently claimed that his wife was mentally ill and that they were getting a divorce. Many in the congregation, however, appeared unaware that Melissa was suffering from any illness.
For her part, Locke's ex-wife Melissa claimed in an interview with Pulpit & Pen that her husband had been both physically and verbally abusive to her.
Soon after the divorce, Pulpit & Pen noted that Locke apparently had a new girlfriend identified as "Tai," adding that they had evidence of the relationship.
"Tai was given a ministry position at the church shortly before this unfolded. Pulpit & Pen has seen text messages between Greg and others, acknowledging that he was indeed in a relationship with the woman," reported the site.
"They have begun doing things together with their mutual families. We have also seen photos of the two together."
