Fact Check

Did an Evangelical Leader Say Trump Opposers Might be Punished With a Gay Child?

Reports that Kenneth Copeland threatened Trump opponents with gay children were actually hoax news.

Published April 7, 2017

 (Wikimedia Commons)
Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Claim:
Evangelical leader Kenneth Copeland said opponents of President Trump could be "punished" with gay children.

On 4 April 2017, the web site Democratize US published a post appearing to report that Evangelical leader Kenneth Copeland had warned opponents of Donald Trump that they might be "punished" with gay children:

If you doubt that Donald Trump is God’s chosen leader, however, you may be inviting misfortune upon yourself and succeeding generations of your family according to some Evangelical leaders. Mary Colbert for one, is certain of this:

“It’s not that Donald Trump is all that perfect of a guy. We all know he’s not. And we know that he’s not necessarily perfect in every way that we would like. That’s not how God works. He works through the ones he chooses. We don’t choose them ... if you come against the chosen one of God, you are bringing upon you and your children and your children’s children curses like you have never seen. It puts a holy fear in me.

Evangelist Kenneth Copeland echoes Mary Colbert’s warning, and fleshes out how God will mete out punishment for not supporting President Trump, when he appeared on the Trinity Broadcasting Network last year:

“If Christians don’t support Trump, they are risking the wrath of God. Trump has been chosen by God, and by rejecting him, they are rejecting God. They could be punished with barrenness, poverty, or even having a gay child.”

The article was not clearly marked as satire, but it originally appeared on 10 August 2016 and was published by The Business Standard News. BS's About page clearly states its content is satirical:

The Business Standard News is a satirical site designed to parody the 24-hour news cycle. The stories are outlandish, but reality is so strange nowadays they could be true.

After claiming Kenneth Copeland had threatened Trump's opponents with gay children, the site went on to fabricate a story about Pat Buchanan's lamenting the past when everyone "knew their place."

Kim LaCapria is a former writer for Snopes.