Burns claimed to have held a bachelor of science degree from North Greenville University ; said he was a member of the historically African-American fraternity , Kappa Alpha Psi ; and claimed to have served six years in the U.S. Army Reserve . But in August 2016 , those longstanding claims in his biography were disproved after CNN fact-checked them . North Greenville University told CNN that Burns attended the school for just one semester and did not receive a degree . Additionally , when questioned by CNN about his claimed participation in the Army Reserve , Burns , who had served in the South Carolina Army National Guard , from 2001 to 2005 , stated " the Army South Carolina National Guard is Reserves . " However , CNN noted that the South Carolina National Guard is a completely separate organization , unrelated to the Army Reserve . When questioned about his attendance at Andersonville Theological Seminary , also mentioned in his biography , Burns was unable to clarify . His church 's website also claimed he was a member of Kappa Alpha Psi , a national historically black fraternity . Burns responded that he had " started the process , " but did not complete initiation . Burns also claimed about the website : " Obviously this has been manipulated or either hacked or added . " Website host Wix.com however , responded that there was no evidence of a hack . Later he admitted that he had lied and had unacceptably exaggerated his education , but said he was attacked because he is " a black man supporting Donald Trump for president . " Burns , along with his wife , Tomarra Burns , founded the NOW Television Network , a Christian television network based in South Carolina , on March 1 , 2015 . He is also executive producer and host of the '' Lift your Voice Show . '' Burns , labeled by '' Time '' magazine as " Donald Trump 's Top Pastor " and named one of the " 16 People Who Shaped the 2016 Presidential Election " by Yahoo News , supported the Trump campaign as a surrogate , appearing on several news channels on behalf of the campaign , including CNN , MSNBC , FOX News , Al Jazeera-America , BBC , CBS News and National Public Radio . He traveled extensively with the Trump campaign , speaking before and introducing the candidate . Burns said he had usually voted Democratic , which included support for Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential election , saying " I 'm not ashamed to say that as a black man I wanted the first black man to enter the office . " He later said , in 2016 , he had " seen the light . " Of Trump he said " He 's a smart man . He knows authenticity . I believe he knows and recognizes real character . " At a Trump rally in North Carolina , Burns said that Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders , who is Jewish , " got ta get saved " . Burns later addressed his statement and said he had not intended to criticize Judaism and that his remarks " had nothing to do with Sanders ' faith or religion or conversion to Christianity . " Burns offered the benediction on the first day of the 2016 Republican National Convention . Before the prayer , he addressed the convention , called Trump a " man of God " and called on Republicans to not attack each other , labeling Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party the " enemy . " Critics of the message , including the Interfaith Alliance , accused Burns of inserting God into partisan politics . Later , he said " If I could go back and use different wording I would n't have said ' enemy , ' I would have said , ' political opponents . ' " In August 2016 , Burns was criticized after he retweeted a digitally manipulated image of Hillary Clinton in blackface . Burns later stated , " I prayed that those who I offended really receive ... a sincere apology , " adding that he believes that the Democratic Party uses black people for votes
2016 Republican National Convention
2016 Republican National Convention
Mark Burns (pastor)