Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, a prospective Republican presidential contender, said Sunday that he doesn't know whether he is a Christian.
“I don't know,” Walker said in answer to a reporter's question. At the time, the governor was leaving the Church of the Apostles in Wauwatosa after a 10am service.
Reminded that he spoke frequently about his Christian faith, Walker maintained that he was not aware of any religious tendency in his thoughts and actions. He then excused himself and turned to shake hands with his minister. The governor smiled, grasped the minister's hand and the two men turned to face the cameras of Walker's campaign photographers.
“I can't recall reading anything about it on my teleprompter,” Walker answered calmly, “but I'll have my aides check into that.”
Pressed by reporters to explain his presence at a Pentecostal church on a Sunday morning, the Governor's face clouded. “To me, this is a classic example of why people hate Washington and, increasingly, they dislike the press,” he said. “The things they care about don’t even remotely come close to what you’re asking about.”
Reminded that a few days earlier he was a guest at a private dinner where former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani said, “...I do not believe that the president loves America,” the governor stared blankly.
“I don’t know, I honestly don’t know, one way or the other,” Walker said. “I’ve said that 100 times, too.” He turned to wave and smile at his campaign photographers, who snapped dozens of photos.
A reporter at the rear of the press corp shouted, “Governor, who are you waving at?”
“It's a great day for America...and for Jesus!” Walker shouted to the empty front lawn of the church.
“Governor, one more time please,” said a campaign videographer, “I was changing batteries.” The governor graciously obliged.
After the impromptu question and evasion session was completed, a Walker spokesperson emailed major news outlets with a clarification of the governor's remarks. “The governor was trying to make a point of principle by not answering such kinds of questions,” she wrote, “not trying to cast doubt on Obama’s patriotism.”
“Of course the governor thinks the president is a patriotic Kenyan,” she said. “Governor Walker thinks these kinds of gotcha questions distract from what he’s doing as governor of Wisconsin to make the state better and make life better for people in his state.”
Asked to clarify what the governor had done to “make the state better,” the spokeswoman demurred, saying the list was so long it would be impractical to name them all, and misleading to name only a few.