Donald Trump says Russell Moore 'a terrible representative of Evangelicals' & a 'nasty guy' - ERLC leader responds

Presidential hopeful Donald Trump has taken a swipe at Southern Baptist Convention's head of Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission.

"Russell Moore is truly a terrible representative of Evangelicals and all of the good they stand for. A nasty guy with no heart!" Trump tweeted.

In an interview with CNN, Moore said he agrees with Trump -- he said he is a nasty guy, someone who needs the grace of God, someone who needs God's forgiveness.

But there are other issues that need to be addressed, he said, like having a president that people can respect and be proud of.

Trump's comment came three days after Moore wrote an article on The New York Times saying that the United States is facing "a crazier election season than many of us ever imagined," zeroing in on Trump as the presumptive nominee of the Republican Party.

"Regardless of the outcome in November, his campaign is forcing American Christians to grapple with some scary realities that will have implications for years to come," Moore wrote. "This election has cast light on the darkness of pent-up nativism and bigotry all over the country. There are not-so-coded messages denouncing African-Americansa and immigrants; concern about racial justice and national unity is ridiculed as 'political correctness.'"

Moore further said that religious minorities are used as scapegoats for others' sins, and their religious freedoms questioned. He expressed that Martin Luther King, Jr., did not envision that more than half a century after his famous "I Have a Dream" speech, black protesters would be met with "Go back to Africa" messages or "that a major presidential candidate would tweet racially changed comments."

"The thriving churches of American Christianiyt are multigenerational, theologically robust, ethnically diverse and connected to the globabl church," Moore wrote. "If Jesus is alive -- and I believe that he is -- he will keep his promise and build his church. But he never promises to do that solely with white, suburban institutional evangelicalism."