'Duck Dynasty' Star Phil Robertson Reiterates Support For Ted Cruz: 'He's Godly and Won't Budge on Principles'

Mar 08, 2016 11:23 AM EST

"Duck Dynasty" star Phil Robertson has reiterated his support for Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz, citing the Texas Senator's "Godly" character and dedication to returning the United States to Christian principles. 

On Friday, the "Duck Commander" appeared at a "Cruzin' to Victory" rally for the presidential hopeful held at the The Castine Center in Mandeville, Louisiana.

"On behalf of Cruz, I got behind him," Robertson, 69, told the crowd. "I'm looking for someone who's Godly and who will not budge on principle and won't budge on this Bible that I'm holding here in my hand."

As reported by The Gospel Herald, the reality star and business owner first endorsed Cruz back in January. In a video posted on YouTube at the time, Robertson said his qualifications for president of the United States are just simple, "Is he or she Godly, does he or she love us, can he or she do the job, and finally would they kill a duck and put him in a pot and make him a good duck gumbo?"

Robertson said he believes that Sen. Cruz is the man for the job, as he clearly loves his family, his country, and God. During a rally in Iowa in February, he also stressed that Cruz would be the country's best bet for restoring the country to its Christian roots.

"When a fellow like me looks at the landscape and sees the depravity, the perversion -- redefining marriage and telling us that marriage is not between a man and a woman? Come on Iowa!" Robertson said, CNN reports.

"It is nonsense. It is evil. It's wicked. It's sinful," he said to applause. "They want us to swallow it, you say. We have to run this bunch out of Washington, D.C. We have to rid the earth of them. Get them out of there."

"Ted Cruz loves God, he loves James Madison and he's a strict constitutionalist. You know what Ted Cruz understands," Robertson said. "God raises these empires up. It is God who brings them down."

Meanwhile, Cruz, who has been endorsed by a number of faith leaders, including Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council, Dr. Jeff Fugate, and Bishop E.W. Jackson, jokingly suggested Robertson would make a great U.N. ambassador.

"How much would you pay to see the Russian ambassador's face when Phil says, 'What is wrong with you people?'" Cruz asked a crowd in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina in February.

"You know there's a reason he terrifies the mainstream media. He says the things you're not supposed to say," the Senator said, taking on a more serious tone. "He actually remembers who we are as Americans and just speaks it with a joy, not with an anger, not with a hatred, with a joy in who we are."

According to a Washington Post-ABC News poll out Tuesday, businessman Donald Trump has the support of 34 percent of registered Republicans and GOP-leaning independents, followed by Cruz at 25 percent, Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida at 18 percent and Ohio Gov. John Kasich at 13 percent. 

Phil's son, Willie Robertson, has endorsed Trump for president.