Democratic nominee Kamala Harris is facing criticism for mocking two pro-life protesters who were booted from a rally after they spoke out for the unborn and proclaimed "Jesus is Lord." Videos of the exchange tallied millions of views on social media over the weekend after Harris, while speaking at a rally at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, defended her record on abortion while denouncing that of Republican nominee Donald Trump.
"We remember Donald Trump hand-selected three members of the United States Supreme Court with the intention that they would undo the protections of Roe v Wade, and they did as he intended," she said.
Videos show the protesters shouting, "Jesus is Lord," to which Harris responded with cheers, "Oh, you guys are at the wrong rally. I think you meant to go to the smaller one down the street."
The protesters were two students from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse -- Luke Polaske and Grant Beth -- who later said they spoke out when the issue turned to abortion.
"We did God's work, and we were there for the right reasons, and God was watching us in this moment," Beth told Fox & Friends.
Polaske explained that his remarks on abortion were not shown in the social media clips.
"After she talked about overturning Roe v Wade and Donald Trump, I yelled out to the crowd that 'abortion is the sacrament of Satan,'" Polaske said.
"I deeply do believe that as a Christian, and about 10 seconds go by, and that's when the video of my friend Grant and I proclaiming that Christ is Lord and Jesus is King [picked up]," he said.
The gym where Harris spoke is a "small venue," he said, estimating they were 20 to 30 yards from Harris.
"She was actually waving to me," Polaske said. "I took this cross off my neck that I wear, and as we were getting asked to leave, I held it up in the air and waved at her and pointed to her, and she looked directly in the eye [and] kind of gave me an evil smirk."
Beth added, "We were heckled at, we were cursed at, we were mocked."
"Jesus was mocked. His disciples were mocked," Beth said.
"I do believe that we were sent there by God," he added.
Polaske said, "We believe that Jesus is Lord and that He has the final say in everything we do. And it's something we center our life around. …We wanted her to know that."
WATCH: Kamala Harris Responds to Protestors 'Jesus Is Lord' Comment
BREAKING: A rally-goer at Kamala Harris’ event shouted, “Jesus is Lord,” to which Harris responded, “Oh, I think you’re at the wrong rally.” pic.twitter.com/nFRY8teWK2
— Leading Report (@LeadingReport) October 18, 2024
Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/Anna Moneymaker/Staff
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.