Christian pastor and author Max Lucado revealed that the anti-Trump ad created by a progressive Christian group used his remarks without his consent.
The nonprofit organization Faith in Public Life Action Fund released a series of ads against Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump that targets a particular group of voters: female Catholics and young evangelical voters.
One of the ads included an audio recording of Lucado giving a negative remark about the candidate.
"I would not have said anything about Mr. Trump if he didn't call himself a Christian," Lucado could be heard saying in the background.
On Monday, Lucado posted a statement on his Facebook account saying the audio clip of his interview was used in the ad without his consent.
“Certain groups are using my words in political ads without my permission. Please do not take what I've said as an endorsement of any candidate,” Lucado posted. “I hope you will pray and vote!”
The audio recording was lifted from his interview with NPR in March, in which he said he was “deeply troubled” that Trump would call himself a Christian, holding a Bible one day and calling a woman “bimbo” the next day.
Prior to that interview, Lucado posted a blog entitled “Decency for President” on his website criticizing Trump.
“I don’t know Mr. Trump. But I’ve been chagrined at his antics,” Lucado wrote in the blog dated Feb. 26. He cited a series of instances when the presidential candidate made fun of other people and called them names.
“Such insensitivities wouldn’t be acceptable even for a middle school student body election,” he said. “But for the Oval Office? And to do so while brandishing a Bible and boasting of his Christian faith?”
However, Lucado has not endorsed any candidate for president.
Rev. Jennifer Butler, director of Faith in Public Life Action Fund, admitted in an interview with the Christian Post that they “really just drew on the NPR interview,” adding that they used Lucado’s words because of his wide popularity among evangelicals.
"The ad on Max Lucado's message particularly resonated with evangelicals," Butler said in the interview. "Evangelicals are his biggest audience and in looking at his popularity among evangelicals, that was certainly important."
Butler also said the goal of the ads is to make people “question deeply” the character of Trump and assess if it lines up with “Christian values.”
In addition, Butler said her organization wants to send the message that Christian voters have other options besides voting for Trump, such as writing “Jesus” in the ballot or staying at home and not participating in the electoral process.
"I think Christians will have options. They can vote for a third-party candidate. They can vote for Clinton. They can stay home. They can write in Jesus," Butler said. "There are a lot of options.”
Butler sits as the chair of Pres. Barack Obama’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships.
In an article published Oct. 13, Lucado discussed his prediction for the November election’s outcome.
“I have a prediction,” Lucado wrote. “I know exactly what November 9 will bring. Another day of God's perfect sovereignty. He will still be in charge. His throne will still be occupied. He will still manage the affairs of the world. Never before has His providence depended on a king, president, or ruler.”
