GOP senator David Perdue: Pray that Obama's 'days be few'

WASHINGTON (AP) A Republican senator told conservatives Friday they should pray for President Barack Obama and suggested a biblical passage that says, ``Let his days be few.''

Georgia Sen. David Perdue told a gathering of religious conservatives that ``we need to be very specific about how we pray.'' He suggested Psalms 109:8, which reads: ``Let his days be few, and let another have his office.''

As the audience at the Faith & Freedom Coalition's conference laughed and applauded, Perdue said, ``In all seriousness, I believe that America is at a moment of crisis.''

The next lines of the Psalm read: ``Let his children be fatherless and his wife a widow.''

Kristen Orthman, a spokeswoman for Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid, said Perdue's comments ``left the impression he was praying for the death of President Obama.''

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., followed Perdue on stage ``and did not condemn him,'' Orthman said. ``If Republicans are still wondering why Donald Trump is their nominee, look no further than today's Faith and Freedom conference,'' she said.

Megan Whittemore, a spokeswoman for Perdue, said the senator told the Faith & Freedom audience that, ``We are called to pray for our country, for our leaders and for our president.''

Perdue ``in no way wishes harm toward our president and everyone in the room understood that,'' Whittemore said.