Huckabee: Faith, not finances biggest divide in America

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee says the biggest gap among Americans involves faith, not finances.

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported Wednesday that Huckabee, who is considering another run for president, had an interview Tuesday with televangelist Jim Bakker in Blue Eye, Missouri. Bakker, who was famously convicted of fraud and conspiracy charges in 1989, intends to air at least two shows featuring Huckabee later this month.

The former governor promoted his upcoming book and discussed his Christian faith, corporal punishment and concealed-weapons permits. Huckabee, a former Southern Baptist minister, also said a wealth gap among Americans is exceeded by other differences.

“The biggest gap there is in America is not economic; the gap is spiritual and cultural,” Huckabee said.

Huckabee left his Fox News show last weekend to ponder a White House run. In the Bakker interview, Huckabee said the only place he’d consider living in Washington was the White House.

Bakker is a defrocked former Assemblies of God minister. An earlier TV ministry, which included a Christian theme park, crumbled amid a sex and money scandal.

The televangelist said Tuesday’s interview with Huckabee was “one of my great moments.”

Bakker preaches that the end of the world is approaching and sells “survival items” — including foldable solar panels in return for a $450 “love gift” to the ministry. He asked Huckabee about steps to protect the nation’s power grid and warned that disruptions could be cataclysmic.

Huckabee spokeswoman Alice Stewart told the newspaper said the ex-governor may appear with other televangelists during a “huge media rollout” for the new book, “God, Guns, Grits, and Gravy.”

“The faith community is a great audience for this book. I mean God is the first word in the title of the book, so obviously we’re going to target God-fearing readers,” she said.

ASSOCIATED PRESS