JD Vance slams Adam Hamilton for supporting LGBT event linked to 'anti-Christian' drag troupe

Vice President JD Vance is publicly criticizing a prominent United Methodist Church (UMC) pastor for supporting what he called an "anti-Christian” drag troupe.

At a “MAGA” rally Monday at Webco Manufacturing in Olathe, Kansas, Vance urged support for Republican U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall in his November re-election bid against Democratic Rev. Adam Hamilton, pastor of Resurrection UMC, a multi-campus congregation in nearby Leawood. 

While Vance highlighted the history of American manufacturing at the industrial site, much of his remarks focused on a sharp critique of Hamilton’s record and theology, including when he told the crowd Democrats had sought a “church pastor” as their nominee in Kansas but failed to examine Hamilton’s public statements and actions. 

“This guy’s pastoral leadership, that’s not what you think of when you think of ministry,” the vice president said. “Do you think of going out and serving people? Maybe serving some meals to the homeless and the downtrodden, supporting your congregation. But this guy is a guy who uses his pulpit not to lift people up. This is a guy who uses his pulpit not to serve the Lord or to serve his congregants.”

Vance, who identifies as Catholic, accused Hamilton of telling congregants “that you need to repent for your white privilege” and, in “the great state of Kansas, one of the barbecue capitals of the world,” that they “need to atone for eating meat.”

Calling Hamilton’s church “a key financial sponsor” of a Kansas City LGBT pride event this summer, Vance said, “[Hamilton] took the donations from his congregants, from people who show up and try to support the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and you know what he did? You know where those dollars went? To events at this festival that were led by strippers and drag queens.”

Vance claimed the church sponsorship also backed a drag group he described as “the devil-worshipping group that was saying special blessings before LA Dodgers games and insulting every Christian in this room in the process.”

The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence (SPI) is a blasphemous group of men dressed as women who hold annual Easter events mocking the crucifixion of Christ.

“We got to be clear about what this group is. This is an anti-Christian hate group,” Vance declared. “Its whole purpose is to mock the Christian religion. It mocks nuns. It insults the Cross. It desecrates the Eucharist and thinks every person of faith in the United States of America is a joke.”

Resurrection UMC has been a longtime sponsor of KC Pridefest, which regularly includes members of a local SPI chapter as participants.

The vice president then appealed to the crowd for their vote by linking Hamilton directly to SPI.  

“Democrat Pastor Adam Hamilton thinks it’s a sin to be white and a sin to raise cattle and eat meat, but he’s OK with supporting groups that spit on God-fearing Americans and mock everything that we hold dear,” said Vance. “Ladies and gentlemen, that is not Christianity. That is left-wing radicalism dressed in the skin suit of our religion. Let’s send it packing in November.”

On Wednesday, Hamilton responded to Vance’s comments, calling them a “false and sad attempt to distract from the real hardships facing Kansans,” but he didn't refute Vance's claims about KC Pridefest and SPI.

“They aren't just attacking me. They're attacking our church, the mainline Christian tradition, and the Christian beliefs of many Kansans,” said Hamilton. “Trying to demean or marginalize the faith of other people, that's just wrong. It's also against the Christian teachings to love, serve and care for one another.”

Hamilton, the founding pastor of Resurrection Church in Leawood, has positioned himself as an alternative to Marshall, who also identifies as a Christian and was elected to the Senate in 2020. Marshall was an honorary co-chair of the 74th annual National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C., in 2025. 

In a 2014 interview with Jonathan Merritt to promote his book, Making Sense of the Bible: Rediscovering the Power of Scripture Today, Hamilton made several claims regarding the content and inspiration of the Holy Bible, including the claim that Christians don’t believe the Bible was “dictated by God.”