“Jean-Marie Le Pen, the controversial father of France’s far-right National Front, on Saturday voiced his support for billionaire real estate mogul Donald Trump’s insurgent bid for the White House. The de facto endorsement insinuates an unflattering — and unsought — connection between Trump and Le Pen, a known racist who was expelled last year from the National Front for his inflammatory rhetoric,” the Washington Post reports.

Said Le Pen: “If I were American, I would vote Donald Trump. But may God protect him!”