'Duck Dynasty's' Phil Robertson touts Warren as a 'godly' candidate for SC governor

Phil Robertson, the rustic, gray-bearded patriarch of the "Duck Dynasty" reality TV family, came “out of the woods” Thursday to stump for Republican candidate for governor John Warren.

Robertson described the Upstate businessman as “a godly man” South Carolina needs to lead it out of a swamp of corruption and depravity.

“If I’m in a hole and I’m fighting for my life, I want Jesus on my right and a U.S. Marine on my left,” Robertson said, a reference to the military service Warren says trained him to be a leader.

Robertson, also known as the “Duck Commander,” after a duck call his family is famous for marketing, spent most of his approximately 15 minutes on the stage at the Marriott in Greenville quoting Scripture and predicting the downfall of America unless the nation closely follows biblical principles.

Warren, he said, is a man who could stand against that moral decline.

“That’s why I’m here. Godly man. Marine. They told me about John Warren, I said get me on the airplane,” he said.

Warren delivered a stump speech that repeated many of the points he made in Wednesday night’s debate with Gov. Henry McMaster, the man he will face in a runoff for the Republican nomination for governor on Tuesday.

“We represent the new conservative reform movement in this state,” Warren said, touting his experience in business as ample preparation for the state’s highest office.

McMaster’s name was not mentioned during the ballroom rally, which drew about 150 people.

Any Warren supporters who hoped to see some interaction between their man and Robertson on stage left disappointed. Two microphone stands and two chairs were set up, but Robertson departed stage right as soon as the 39-year-old Warren appeared, carrying his 15-month-old son, with his wife and toddler.

Robertson used a text from the New Testament book of Romans, in which the Apostle Paul described the characteristics and fate of a country that abandons God.

“They disobey their parents, they are senseless, faithless, ruthless,” he said.

He listed the qualities the apostle gave as qualifications for elders of the church and contrasted them with the corruption and self-serving attitudes of many politicians in America now.

“Think about if we applied these kind of standards to people in government,” he said. “See how far down we’ve gone?”

The 72-year-old from West Monroe, La., has made headlines before, after making controversial remarks about homosexuality in a magazine article in 2013. Afterward, the A&E network suspended the program briefly.

Robertson was introduced by state Sen. Tom Corbin, R-Travelers Rest, and state Rep. Ashley Trantham R-Greenville, who announced her endorsement of Warren.

This story was originally published June 22, 2018 at 7:44 AM with the headline "'Duck Dynasty's' Phil Robertson touts Warren as a 'godly' candidate for SC governor."