President Trump on Monday touted his administration’s policies to protect and promote religion in the United States, hailing the input from top religious leaders who have molded some of his actions.
The president, in remarks at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C., touted executive orders declaring there are only two genders in the U.S., slashing federal funding for schools over transgender education, and preventing transgender athletes from playing in women’s sports. He stressed that he wants to protect religious leaders so they can talk about politics, anti-abortion activists and prayer in schools.
Trump thanked his White House Religious Liberty Commission for guiding his work on these issues, which has amounted to what a White House press release characterized as “100 victories for people of faith.”
“You’re the people we want to hear from. We want to hear from you, I don’t want to hear from a lot of people,” Trump said. “I hear from too many people — you’re the people we respect. Franklin [Graham] is incredible. All of the people who are up here, I want to hear from these people.”
The commission is chaired by former Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R) and vice chaired by Ben Carson, who was Trump’s Housing and Urban Development secretary in his first term. It also includes the Rev. Franklin Graham — son of Billy Graham, who served as a faith leader for previous presidents — and New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan.
The Rev. Paula White, who has served as a religious adviser to Trump for years, is on the commission, as well as Rabbi Meir Soloveichik and television personality “Dr.” Phil McGraw, among others.
Trump announced in his remarks Monday two new initiatives aimed at pushing religious expression — the Department of Education “soon” issuing guidance protecting the right to prayer in public schools, and the launch of “America Prayers” to invite Americans to gather weekly in groups of 10 and pray ahead of the 250th anniversary of the United States.
“What if 1 million people prayed for our country every single week between now and July 4? More specifically, what if believers all across this great nation got together with 10 people, friends, family members, colleagues, work associates? Ten people each week to pray for our country and for our fellow citizens. Let that sink in: 1 million people, every single week,” Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner said at the museum.
“On behalf of President Trump … I’m inviting all Americans to pray with unwavering faith for the renewal of our nation and our fellow citizens. Amen. All Americans,” he said.
Promoting group prayer and prayer in school buildings builds on a Trump administration memo in July that declared federal workers can attempt to persuade coworkers about why their religious beliefs are “correct.”
The memo said one or more employees should be allowed to engage in individual or communal religious expressions; employees can engage in conversations on religious topics “including attempting to persuade others of the correctness of their own religious views”; and federal workers can “encourage their coworkers to participate in religious expressions of faith, such as prayer.”
The Office of Personnel Management worked with the White House Faith Office to produce the memo, a spokesperson said at the time, and it was sent to heads of departments and agencies.
The White House Faith Office was established in February as part of the Domestic Policy Council, with White acting as a senior adviser.
Trump had directed the office to identify ways to reduce burdens on the free exercise of religion and to work with Attorney General Pam Bondi, who was named the head of a task force to “eradicate anti-Christian bias.” Since then, Trump signed an executive order on anti-Christian bias, which aims to protect Christians from religious discrimination.
Since his first term in office, Trump has accused his political opponents of infringing on religious liberty, accusing them of persecuting Christians. He referenced Monday that he pardoned anti-abortion activists former President Biden’s Department of Justice prosecuted for blocking entrances to abortion clinics.
He attacked Biden, who throughout his presidency balanced his support for abortion access with his Catholicism, of being “mean.”
“He’s a mean guy, actually. Not a smart guy, never was,” Trump said. “What they did to people, what they did to J6 [the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol rioters], what they did to so many people, they were mean people. These were really radical, horrible people.”
The president spoke about curbing crime as part of his work promoting religious expression, condemning the stabbing of a Ukrainian women in Charlotte, N.C., antisemitism on college campuses and the recent shooting at a Catholic school in Minneapolis.
“Our hearts are shattered for the families of those beautiful children,” the president said of the shooting. “We must get answers about the causes of these repeated attacks.”
Trump has targeted universities including Harvard over what he deems inaction to protect Jewish students, cutting off federal funding. He has also threatened to cut federal funding to California schools if they don’t comply with his transgender policies, since the state has refused to abide by the administration’s ban on transgender athletes on girls sports teams.
While taking on these fights, religious leaders have often visited the White House.
During faith-based events this year, Trump shares a message that he will defend and protect the Judeo-Christian principals and heritage of the U.S.
“America was founded on faith, as we know, and I’ve been saying it for a long time: When faith gets weaker, our country seems to get weaker. When faith gets stronger, as it is right now … good things happen for our country. It’s amazing how it seems to work that way,” Trump said Monday.
“Under the Trump administration, we’re defending our rights and restoring our identity as a nation under God. We are one nation under God, and we always will be.”
