A Kansas Democrat says he is praying for Donald Trump after the president called him a ‘perverted pastor’ in front of a rally crowd

Kansas Democratic Senate candidate Adam Hamilton is responding after President Donald Trump called him a “perverted pastor” during a Sunday rally for Senator Roger Marshall. As detailed by The Hill, Hamilton told Mills Hayes on Monday that he found the President’s comments “pathetic” and “sad.”

Hamilton, who is in a tight race to become the first Democrat to represent Kansas in the Senate in nearly a century, described the insults as an “honor.” He also said he is praying for both Trump and Marshall.

“I’ll just say, it doesn’t bother me,” Hamilton said of Trump’s remark. “I feel like that says more about him than it says about me.” Trump reportedly made similar attacks against Hamilton at another rally in October.

Hamilton thinks Trump showed up to rescue his opponent

Trump’s rally, held two days before Election Day, aimed to give a boost to Marshall. Hamilton noted that Trump had initially canceled the rally but ended up attending anyway, after pushing back on reporters who questioned why he canceled it. The President has also laid out his conditions for accepting midterm results as voters head to the polls.

“He’s come here at the end of a long day, and he’s come here desperately trying to save my opponent, Roger Marshall, and I don’t think that’s going to happen,” Hamilton said. Trump won Kansas by more than 16 points two years ago, and Hamilton has worked to present himself as a centrist.

Despite the President’s remarks, Hamilton maintains that he is willing to work with Trump on anything that would benefit Kansans. “Anything the president wants to do that’s good for the people of Kansas, I will be his best partner here,” Hamilton said.

Hamilton is also the longtime pastor of one of the largest United Methodist churches in the nation. He says there is no need to be shy about his church ties and believes the separation of church and state is “very important.”

Hamilton supports abortion rights and has addressed concerns from Christians about his views. “There’s room for people to have differences of opinion on things,” he said.

Hamilton said he is “cautiously optimistic” about winning the race on election night, adding, “It’s going to be fun.”