Presidential candidate Rick Santorum brushed aside a report Tuesday that said the former Pennsylvania senator told students Satan was threatening the United States in a 2008 speech, calling it "absurd."
"It's absurd," said Santorum in a video posted by CNN. "I'm a person of faith. I believe in good and evil. I think if somehow or another because you’re a person of faith and you believe in good and evil is a disqualifier for president, we’re going to have a very small pool of candidates who can run for president."
Santorum was responding to questions about a story published in the Drudge Report earlier Tuesday that said Santorum told students at Ave Maria University in Florida three years ago that "Satan has his sights on the United States of America."
Santorum dismissed the report and said he is "going to stay on message" and "talk about things that Americans want to talk about."
The presidential contender was in Phoenix on Tuesday to court voters ahead of Tuesday's primary in Arizona. Voters in Michigan will also go to the polls on Tuesday.
Responding to questions about the three-year-old "Satan" remarks, Santorum said "these questions are not relevant to what’s being discussed in America today."
"What we're talking about in America today is trying to get America growing — that's what my speeches are about," he added.
Santorum, along with the other three remaining Republican presidential contenders, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingirch and Ron Paul, will participate in a CNN/Arizona Republican Party debate Wednesday at 8 p.m.
