Jews and other non-Christians are "not conservative" because it is "an explicitly Christian movement" and because the US "is an explicitly Christian country," said Andrew Torba, the CEO of Gab and reportedly a consultant for state senator Doug Mastriano, the Republican candidate for governor of Pennsylvania, in a livestream responding to recent condemnations of Mastriano and Gab.
Mastriano has come into the public eye in recent weeks after US media outlets reported that he had spent $5,000 on advertising on Gab, a social media network favored by the far-right. The candidate has also reportedly paid for "campaign consulting" from the platform, with reports that new Gab users are set to automatically follow him.
Both Republicans and Democrats have called on Mastriano to withdraw his ad campaign from the social media platform.
Torba claimed that "many other candidates" are running ad campaigns on Gab, although he did not name any of these candidates. Gab is based in Pennsylvania.
"This is the most important election of the 2022 midterms because Doug is an outspoken Christian," said Torba in the video, complaining about the reports condemning Gab and Mastriano's decision to buy advertising on the site. "We are going to build a coalition of Christian nationalists, of Christians, of Christian candidates, at the state, local and federal levels and we're going to take this country back for the glory of God."
"My policy is not to conduct interviews with reporters who aren't Christian or with outlets who aren't Christian and Doug has a very similar media strategy where he does not do interviews with these people. He does not talk to these people. He does not give press access to these people," said the Gab founder. "These people are dishonest. They're liars. They're a den of vipers and they want to destroy you. My typical conversation with them when they email me is 'repent and accept Jesus Christ as your lord and savior.' I take it as an opportunity to try and convert them."
Torba called Mastriano's opponent, Josh Shapiro, "a Soros puppet" (a reference to Jewish billionaire George Soros) and reiterated claims that he was involved in voter fraud in the 2020 election. Torba stressed that Mastriano "answers only to Jesus Christ."
'This is a Christian movement. Full stop'
"He's going to turn this state around for the glory of God. That is the mission here folks. We can't have this Populism Inc or this pseudo-conservativism. What exactly have conservatives conserved? This isn't a big tent. This is a Christian movement. Full stop," continued the self-described Christian nationalist.
"The only way that we're going to win, the only way we're going to gain any ground in the culture, the government, in taking our towns, our cities, our states, our counties and our country back is by putting Jesus Christ first. It's just that simple. There's no other way."
Torba complained that "the establishment" is pushing Dave Rubin, Jordan Peterson and Ben Shapiro, calling them "the same usual suspects that they're trying to prop up now as the 'gatekeepers' and as the 'influencers' in the movement."
"These people aren't conservative. They're not Christian. They don't share our values. They have inverted values from us as Christians. So don't fall for the bait of Populism Inc, don't fall for the bait of this pseudo-conservatism, big tent nonsense. This is a Christian movement. This movement needs to be centered on the gospel and truth of God's word and of Jesus Christ, our lord and savior and king. That is the only way that this is going to work."
The Gab founder stated that "We're playing the long game...Roe was the perfect example. Roe was not an overnight win. Roe was like the combination of 50 years of Christian planning and Christian building."
Torba added that "this is an explicitly Christian movement, because this is an explicitly Christian country. From its founding throughout its entire history it has been an explicitly Christian country."
"Turn off Ben Shapiro. This is not a Judeo-Christian movement. Those terms are contradictory"
Responding to an article on his comments by MediaMatters, Torba stressed that Jewish conservatives are not welcome in the conservative movement unless "they repent and accept Jesus Christ as their lord and savior."
"We don't want people who are atheists. We don't want people who are Jewish. We don't want people who are, you know, nonbelievers, agnostic, whatever. This is an explicitly Christian movement because this is an explicitly Christian country."
Andrew Torba, the CEO of Gab
"We don't want people who are atheists. We don't want people who are Jewish. We don't want people who are, you know, nonbelievers, agnostic, whatever. This is an explicitly Christian movement because this is an explicitly Christian country. We're not saying we're going to deport all these people or whatever. You're free to stay here. You're not going to be forced to convert or anything like this because that's not biblical whatsoever. But you're going to enjoy the fruits of living in a Christian society under Christian laws and under a Christian culture and you can thank us later."
"We want to disciple all nations. Not just America...We are going to take dominion of this entire planet. Our generation of Christians is not buying dispensational Zionist lies, we do not have a pessimistic eschatology," added Torba in the second video.
"Ben Shapiro and other non-believers are not allowed to have a prominent voice in our movement because they don't share our values...They're trying to subvert Christian nationalism. Turn off Ben Shapiro. This is not a Judeo-Christian movement. Those two terms are actually contradictory.
In an interview with Torba, Mastriano stressed that he wants people to be able to "live life as [they] see fit, not as a governor or president sees fit." Torba added that "we have to make Pennsylvania the Florida of the north," with Mastriano responding that he's "going to make Ron DeSantis look like an amateur when [he's] in charge."