FIRST ON FOX: Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris visited the mega church of a controversial pastor this past Sunday in a key swing state, where she thanked him for his "leadership" and said she was honored to be in attendance to "celebrate" what he has "accomplished."
Harris attended a church service at the Georgia-based New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, which is under the pastoral leadership of senior pastor Jamal H. Bryant. The longtime pastor has repeatedly praised the antisemitic Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan and said gay people should feel "uncomfortable" in their "sin."
Bryant, who introduced Harris as an "American hero" and "voice of the future," told the congregation that their unborn grandchildren are going to one day ask where they were on the day of the church service and called on them to "make some noise" for their "fearless leader."
"Pastor Bryant, I thank you for your leadership," Harris said while delivering remarks for about 20 minutes in front of the New Birth congregation. "You and I have discussed that we first met almost 20 years ago when there was a convening of rising stars in the country, and we had conversations back then about how we thought of our role and responsibility to our country and our responsibility and duty as leaders."
BIDEN CABINET OFFICIAL POSES FOR PHOTO WITH ONE OF FARRAKHAN'S 'TOP SOLDIERS' AT DNC
"It is so good to be with you this morning to celebrate what you have accomplished with this extraordinary congregation," she added.
Bryant, who donated $500 to the Harris campaign a week after President Biden announced that he wasn't running for re-election, has been a vocal Harris supporter and said earlier this summer that he and other Black leaders were "mobilizing an army" in support of her campaign.
"It was a sister that raised you, it was a sister that taught you how to read. It takes a real man to support a woman," Bryant said during his sermon. He added, "You were born for such a time as this," referring to Harris.
Despite Bryant's praise for Harris and boosting her candidacy, his past controversial comments could come back to haunt the Harris campaign.
He has a long history of praising Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, who has espoused antisemitic rhetoric dating back decades, including calling Jews "wicked" and comparing them to termites by saying he was "anti-termite." Bryant interviewed the Nation of Islam leader in 2015 and said he is "one of the greatest leaders of our people."
"We welcome to the Word Network and the entire world, the honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan! We’re honored to have you, sir," Bryant said while introducing him. "I’m so appreciative to be able to mark in history that I lived in the same chasm of time as one of the greatest leaders of our people."
In a tweet from 2019, Bryant said that he was "humbled" to be in Farrakhan’s presence. His Twitter page has dozens of other tweets related to Farrakhan.
Bryant has also been critical of the gay community, telling a congregation at the Baltimore Empowerment Temple in 2012 that "homosexuality is not the only sin, but it is a sin," while adding that it is their "responsibility" to make gay people and other sinners "uncomfortable in [their] sin."
He went on to attack former President Obama for supporting gay marriage and not giving Black pastors a warning, causing them to feel blindsided and betrayed. He told the congregation that Obama was "Black and wrong" and "Black and out of order."
Harris has been a longtime supporter of gay rights and her campaign website says she will "always defend the freedom to love who you love openly and with pride."
"In 2004, she officiated some of the nation’s first same-sex marriages and as Attorney General, she refused to defend California’s anti-marriage equality statewide referendum," her campaign website continued. "As President, she’ll fight to pass the Equality Act to enshrine anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQI+ Americans in health care, housing, education and more into law."
During Harris' remarks at Bryant's church, she also gave a shout-out to her controversial hometown pastor and longtime mentor, Rev. Amos Brown, who was in attendance at the church service, calling him a "source of comfort and solace for me for so many years" and praising his "wisdom."
Brown, who has faced backlash for past comments, including blaming the United States for the September 11th attacks and repeatedly defending Obama's controversial pastor Jeremiah Wright, also delivered remarks during the church service.
At one point during his prayer, Brown called for God to "speak to every Black male and have him to know he spits on their graves when he refuses to vote. Speak to every Black male that he will know that we must not trample on the graves of those who gave up their lives for the right to vote."
"Thank you, oh God, for this day that we pray for our member and thy servant, Kamala Harris. Oh God, may she know that she moves around this nation. You will guide her. You will protect her, and she will be able to say, ‘I will make the darkness light before thee, and what is wrong I know you will make it right before me and all my battles I will fight before thee.'"
Fox News Digital reached out to New Birth Missionary Baptist Church and the Harris campaign for comment but did not receive a response.
