Sen. David Perdue (R-GA) raised eyebrows at a conservative confab on Friday by offering a prayer for President Barack Obama that hinted at the sinister.
“In his role as President, I think we should pray for Barack Obama. But I think we need to be very specific about how we pray,” Perdue told the audience at the Faith and Freedom Coalition conference in Washington, D.C. “We should pray like Psalm 109:8 says, that says, ‘let his days be few.’”
After waiting a beat, Perdue said, “And let another have his office,’” drawing laughter from the audience.
As observers on Twitter quickly pointed out, the full Biblical passage is significantly more ominous.
“May his days be few; may another take his office,” the cited section reads.
“May his children be fatherless and his wife a widow! May his children wander about and beg, seeking food far from the ruins they inhabit!” the next section continues.
Conservatives had latched onto this particular passage earlier in Obama’s presidency, sharing it on memes and printing it on bumper stickers and t-shirts.
Adam Jentleson, spokesperson for Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), said remarks like this are how the GOP ended up with Donald Trump as a nominee.
On stage next, did McConnell condemn Perdue’s prayer for Obama to die? Of course not.
This is why they have Trump.https://t.co/cfSIt84qDG
— Adam Jentleson (@AJentleson) June 10, 2016
Perdue spokeswoman Caroline Vanvick said in a statement to Bloomberg that the Georgia senator “in no way wishes harm towards our president.”
