Duck Dynasty Star Willie Robertson Says Election Is Not About Religion, Defends Ben Carson From Donald Trump

Nov 04, 2015 12:34 PM EST

Duck Dynasty Star Willie Robertson claims he has not yet made his choice as to whom amongst the presidential aspirants he would support but insisted his vote will go to someone whom he believes could make America great again and not just because the candidate is a Christian.

Appearing in Fox Business Network's Mornings with Maria, Robertson, who prides himself and his family as conservative Christians, said that election should not be all about religion. He said, "I like the idea of running it [United States] as a business... If you look at the deficit it seems like we haven't done a great job of that."

Earlier, the Christian reality TV star said that aspiring Republican presidential candidates Donald Trump and Bobby Jindal have caught his attention. Later, Robertson said that he also admires the position of Ben Carson.

During the show, Willie defended Carson from criticisms thrown at him by Trump because of his membership in the Seventh-day Adventist Church during a campaign speech last week.

Robertson said, "There [are] a lot of things that Trump says that I really like. I don't agree with everything he says but there is a lot of things that he says that makes sense and I like the charisma, I like the energy, as he would say and I've met Ben Carson as well. He is a super nice guy... I certainly share his faith... He's taken the faith... Trump does the same thing you know he's so in your face which I kind of thought [Chris] Christie was going [to]... So it's the outsiders that came in that took over these issues."

During a campaign speech last week Trump, who claims to be a Presbyterian, threw some jabs at Carson's faith. "I'm Presbyterian. Boy, that's down the middle of the road, folks, in all fairness," Trump said, "I mean, Seventh-day Adventist, I don't know about. I just don't know about."

However, Willie said he is supporting Trump's hardline stance against the Islamic State jihadists and the terror group's persecution of Christians. Robertson continued, "I remember when he said it and I think it was the first time I ever heard someone actually say it who is running for president.I didn't hear a lot of talk about it [before that]. As a Christian, I was like, 'What is going on in this world?'"

"Those kinds of things to me are big," he added. "I hurt for those people all over the world who are being persecuted."

Meanwhile, Willie's wife Korie, who also stars in the Duck Dynasty series, has accused the Obama administration of "shying away" from the Christian faith, causing the United States to turn further and further away from God.

During a recent The Church Boys podcast, Robertson, 42, discussed her book Strong and Kind: And Other Important Character Traits Your Child Needs to Succeed, which focuses on helping parents instill character in their children.

Speaking to hosts Billy Hallowell and Chris Field, Robertson emphasized that strong, Godly parenting is imperative, especially amid the lack of integrity seen among today's leaders and the country's subsequent moral decline.

"We've turned away from God. We've said to God, basically, 'No thank you. I think we know better,'" she said. "And ... it's showing in the way that our young people are growing up and the respect that our young people have for authority, and the way that people are acting towards each other."