A California MAGA pastor says a ‘flawed’ Trump was chosen to lead a sinful nation

At Godspeak Calvary Chapel in Newbury Park, Senior Pastor Rob McCoy, right, presides over a service during the COVID-19 pandemic. “This is the epicenter of a rebirth of freedom,” McCoy said from the Phoenix headquarters of Kirk’s organization, Turning Point USA. Kirk, the 31-year-old conservative firebrand, rallied his millions of online followers to support Trump, prompting conservative podcast host Megyn Kelly to say, “It’s not an understatement to say that this man is responsible for helping the Republicans win back the White House and the U.S. Senate.” The Atlantic dubbed Kirk “the right’s new kingmaker.” And the man the kingmaker calls his pastor is McCoy, of Godspeak Calvary Chapel in Newbury Park. We didn’t deserve this.” McCoy, a vaccine skeptic who has been senior pastor at Godspeak for 25 years, told The Times he considers Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the anti-vaccine activist whom Trump has chosen to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, “a good friend.” At his church he has hosted MAGA luminaries like Tulsi Gabbard, Trump’s pick for director of national intelligence, and Michael Flynn, Trump’s former national security advisor. In a 2021 interview, Kirk said that McCoy, in their first meeting, told him: “You’re a Christian, and I want to tell you that not only does the Bible say a lot about civil government, not only does the Bible say a lot about how we should interact with our leaders, but I think you should talk more publicly about that.” Pastor Rob McCoy, in a 2020 photo, resigned from the Thousand Oaks City Council because he was at odds with government-imposed restrictions on gatherings during the pandemic.