A US politician who was mocked for sharing Bible verses on Twitter has hit back at his critics. Senator Marco Rubio, a Republican, tweets out verses on an almost daily basis.
The controversy began when CNN anchor's Chris Cuomo and Don Lemon argued that several leading Republican lawmakers were "enabling" President Trump by refusing to condemn his recent phone call with the Secretary of State for Georgia, during which the president attempted to convince the official to overturn the presidential election result in the state.
Cuomo then specifically singled out Rubio, referring to him as "Mr Bible Boy" and noting that he has a "Bible quote for every moment" but that he "just never speaks truth to power … or acts on any of it in the interests of his own state or of this country".
In a response posted to Twitter, Rubio explained that the verses he tweets "are usually the ones chosen by the Catholic Church for that day's mass".
He added: "The fact he [Cuomo] thinks words written thousands of years ago are relevant to current events proves the Bible isn’t just a book,it’s the word of God AMEN."
US lawmakers from across the political spectrum are still reeling from the events of earlier this week, when a mob of Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol, ransacking offices and assaulting police officers.
Tweeting on the day of the protests, Rubio said there was "nothing patriotic" about the riots. "This is 3rd world style anti-American anarchy," he added.
In a later video statement, Rubio said the protests had deemed to be "one of the saddest days in our history,” and a “national embarrassment".
“We now have third world countries that are lecturing us," he added, "and we have tin pot dictators that are mocking us".
Despite being widely viewed as the instigators, Thursday, President Trump condemned the siege, calling it a "heinous attack" which "defiled the seat of American democracy".
He also committed to a "smooth, orderly and seamless transition of power", noting that his campaign had "vigorously pursued every legal avenue to contest the election results".