Chris Young, Providence Mayoral Candidate, Delivers Religious Rant On MSNBC (Video)
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It is no longer a secret that crooner-turned-Providence-mayoral-candidate Chris Young is getting married. But what was less well-known to most people is how fond he was of Jesus.
That was until his cringe-worthy appearance with his new fiancee on MSNBC Thursday morning.
When Young was booked on MSNBC Live, producers apparently hoped he'd talk about his proposal to his girlfriend and campaign manager, Kara Russo, during a debate earlier this week. Instead, when asked by anchor Tom Roberts why he decided to propose then and there, he went off on a bizarre religious, quasi-political rant:
Well, it's time for a change in the city of Providence. There's widespread corruption in Providence, and the state of Rhode Island as well is rampant with our corruption. Kara and I want to change that together.
Okay, so far so good. He tied in his political ambitions to the fact that he wanted to help bring about change in Providence with his girlfriend, campaign manager, and a candidate for Congress and Lt. Governor. Russo, who supports the Tea Party movement, is also the marketing and sales director for the Ryan Center at the University of Rhode Island.
Roberts tried to direct Young to answer why he chose the time and place for the proposal. Here's where the interview went off the rails.
"There's an attack on religion in our society right now," Young said, clearly reading off a prepared script he held in his hand. He continued:
Every people, tribe, tongue and nation gaze on our church and the Church of Peter and gloat over it. That it's been killed, they say. But Christ said that the gates of hell shall not prevail against the Church. Many people within the Church have corrupted the Church and also from outside the Church, there have been attacks on the Church. Just as Jesus Christ--
Roberts, trying to avert disaster, then tried a different tactic: asking Russo what she thought of the proposal. Despite Young's obvious attempt to hand his script over to his fiancee, Russo actually answered the question. He kept trying to go back to his script, but Roberts asked another question, this time about how likely Young will win. During the question, Young seemed frustrated, and whispered "Just like Jesus Christ" to Russo.
It is important to note here that Young was kicked out of a debate in July for holding a statue of the Virgin Mary. While Wonkette realized this, MSNBC might not have.
What did Young say was the likelihood that he would be elected?
Well, it's very likely. We got 26 percent of the vote in the last election. We're winning all the debates. I'm on MSNBC right now talking with you, Tom. [Looks back at sheet] And obviously, just as Jesus Christ arose from the dead after three days, so will the Church arise again and so will we. We'll represent the Church as prophets for the Church and bring about real change.
At this point, Roberts tried to end the interview, saying that "you need to become a minister."
"No, what we need is man-and-woman marriage in Rhode Island.. and in this country. We need to stand for God in this country," Young replied, ending one of the oddest interviews in history as well as three minutes of broadcast time that MSNBC would probably like to have back.
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The Huffington Post Jeremy Binckes First Posted: 08/27/10 01:41 PM ET Updated: 05/25/11 06:30 PM ET