Romney: Jeffress wrong man to give Jerusalem embassy prayer

WASHINGTON (AP) — Utah Senate candidate Mitt Romney says a prominent Baptist minister shouldn't be giving the prayer that opens the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem because he's a "religious bigot."

In a tweet Sunday night, the former Massachusetts governor and 2012 Republican presidential nominee criticized Dallas minister Robert Jeffress for his remarks about Jews, Mormons and Islam.

Romney said, "Robert Jeffress says 'you can't be saved by being a Jew,' and 'Mormonism is a heresy from the pit of hell.' He's said the same about Islam."

The liberal group Media Matters reports on its website that Jeffress made the remarks cited by Romney in a 2011 speech at the conservative Values Voter Summit.

Jeffress responded in a tweet of his own by defending his view that "salvation is through faith in Christ alone."