Duck Dynasty's Phil Robertson touts John Warren as antidote for moral decline in politics

Phil Robertson, the rustic gray-bearded patriarch of the Duck Dynasty reality TV family, came “out of the woods” Thursday to stump for John Warren, “a godly man” he said 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,” he 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, 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.

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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,” he 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. A spokeswoman for his campaign couldn’t be reached for comment after the event.

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.

During his sermon, 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 the qualifications for elders of the church and contrasted them with how he see 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?”

With his wrap-around sunglasses and headband, Robertson looked like he could have been a guitar player for ZZ Top, but his words made him appear more like Elijah or one of the Old Testament prophets.

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

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