First Baptist Dallas Pastor Robert Jeffress 'honored' by inclusion in 'Melania' film

As the senior pastor of one of the most well-known churches in the United States, Pastor Robert Jeffress of First Baptist Dallas is accustomed to being up on stage.

On the big screen, however, is another matter entirely.

Jeffress, 70, makes a brief cameo in “Melania,” the new documentary about first lady Melania Trump, in which Jeffress was asked to pray for President Donald Trump at a pre-inaugural event in Washington, D.C., in January. 

The film — which is distributed by Amazon Studios and earned over $7 million during its opening weekend — captured the cinematic moment, but Jeffress told The Christian Post on Monday he didn’t even know he was in the movie until after its release. The night of the premiere for “Melania,” Jeffress said he was attending a private event in West Palm Beach when his “phone started blowing up with text messages from people who had been at the premiere the first night of the film, saying, "You're in it. You're in it."

Jeffress recalled asking them, "’What are you talking about?’ And they said, ‘The new documentary on Melania.’"  

Despite being caught off guard by the news, Jeffress said his inclusion in the film was an honor.

“I was completely unaware of it, but I was honored to be a small part of the telling of the story of what happened to the Trump family in the 20 days leading up to the inauguration,” he added.

On Jan. 31, Jeffress urged his followers on social media to go see “Melania” and called it a “great movie everyone who loves our country should see!”

While the film focuses primarily on chronicling the first lady’s relationships with her family and how she navigates the pressures of living in the spotlight, “Melania” doesn’t offer much insight into her private faith. But Jeffress said wherever she may be on her journey, he believes both the president and first lady are “very sincere in their belief in the power and the importance of prayer,” adding, “I’ve had the opportunity to pray for them publicly and in smaller gatherings, and they have always welcomed that and sometimes have requested it.”

He recalled one candid encounter in the Oval Office with Trump and an unidentified “highly decorated general” in which the president referred to Jeffress as “General Robert.”

“He said to the general, ‘You know, General Robert is more powerful than you are.’ And the general kind of had a funny look on his face, and the president continued. He said, ‘No, think about it. Every day Robert talks to the one who controls everything that happens in this universe,'” said Jeffress. “And I believe the president believes that. I believe he believes in a God who is in control, who is sovereign, and a God whose assistance we all need.”

While Jeffress has been one of Trump’s most visible supporters in the Evangelical community, he no longer serves in any official faith advisory role for the president, according to Fox News.

Jeffress told the outlet his relationship with Trump is “an informal friendship that I've cherished for these last 10 years. I just basically like President Trump," he said. “... And I can tell you, he loves this country.”