Ron DeSantis has been slammed by a former chair of the Republican Party for the “blasphemy” in one of his campaign ads.
The advert claims the Florida governor is a “fighter” created by God “on the eighth day”.
As images of Mr DeSantis appear onscreen, the ad’s narrator states: “And on the eighth day, God looked down on his planned paradise and said, I need a protector. So God made him a fighter.”
Mr DeSantis has made increasingly overt appeals to Christian nationalist voters during his midterm re-election campaign, which is widely seen as a stepping stone to a presidential run in 2024.
Former RNC chair Michael Steele appeared on The Sunday Show on MSNBC, saying that the advert was “some of the most a**-backwards blasphemy I’ve ever heard in my life”.
Mr Steele said it was “one of the dumbest political ads you could ever make,” calling it “insulting”.
“It tells you what this white Christian nationalism is all about, that’s who it appeals to,” Mr Steele added on Sunday. “It doesn’t appeal to churchgoing folks on Sunday, people who actually read the Bible. On the eighth-day, really? Church much? Seriously, on the eighth day?”
“This idea, oh, God needs a protector ... what the hell are you talking about? Oh, God needs someone who’s going to go out and defend and challenge the status quo. You ever hear of a man named Jesus? I don’t need Ron DeSantis to be Christ. I just need him to be governor, and that is the problem. These idiots, they just mesh it all together and think they are one and the same,” Mr Steele said.
In a recent editorial, The Miami Herald warned that the governor’s flirtation with an ideology that promotes links between being American and being Christian could be dangerous as it often overlapped with white supremacy.
The Herald noted that Mr DeSantis, who is leading his Democratic opponent Charlie Crist by 10 points according to election forecaster FiveThirtyEight, had successfully appealed to voters by pitting Christians against the “so-called evils of the left”.
Mr DeSantis has introduced legislation targeting the LGBT+ community, "woke" teachers and Disney, all favourite targets of the right, the paper’s editorial board wrote.
He has also increasingly employed biblical phrases in campaign advertising and public speeches.
In an event at the conservative Christian Hillsdale College in Michigan in September, Mr DeSantis said: “Put on the full armour of God. Stand firm against the left’s schemes.”
The phrase, borrowed from the New Testament book of Ephesians, swaps the word “left” with “devil” from the original text.
Florida-based creative director Scott Linnen wrote on Twitter the new ad was “what extreme narcissism and egomania looks like”.
“God in his infinite wisdom rolls his eyes,” another wrote.
The Independent has sought comment from Mr DeSantis’ spokespeople.
