Speaking to voters during a speech at the National Religious Broadcasters Convention in Nashville, Tennessee, on Thursday, February 22, former President and likely 2024 GOP candidate Donald Trump pledged to defend America’s Christians against political persecution. Doing so, he called Christians the “soul of our country.”
During the speech, former President Trump emphasized his view on Christians and their relationship with America, saying, “Americans of faith are not a threat to our country. Americans of faith are the soul of our country.”
Continuing, he noted that communist regimes and other totalitarian and authoritarian governments have declared war on Christians and churches, saying, “Remember: Every communist regime throughout history has tried to stamp out the churches, just like every fascist regime has tried to co-op them and control them. And in America, the radical Left is trying to do both at the same time.”
And, tying that in with what many on the right see as the woke left’s war on history and Christianity, he added, “They want to tear down crosses where they can and cover them up with social justice flags. … They want to take off the names George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson off schools and off monuments.”
Then, pledging to defend religious liberty and Christians specifically, Trump said, “When I return to the White House, I will once again aggressively defend religious liberty just like I had for four years.” He continued, “You had no problems. But we’re going to defend it in all of its forms. We will protect Christians in our schools and our military and our government and in all of those airwaves. … And we will protect God in our public square.”
Turning to religious broadcasters specifically, Trump vowed to protect religious freedom of expression, saying,“I will never allow the big media or left-wing pressure groups to silence you, censor you, discriminate against you, or in any way tell you what you have to say … There’s enough filth on our airwaves, American families need a haven where our children can be taught our values – not have radical values forced upon them.”
Further, he emphasized his Christian faith to the crowd, declaring,“As you know, the Left is trying to shame Christians. They try and shame us. I’m a very proud Christian. I’ve been very busy fighting and taking the arrows. I’m taking it for you.” Similarly, he said during the speech that he is a “fellow believer,” telling the crowd, “So today, I come before you as a friend, an ally, and a fellow believer to ask for your help and your support and your prayers for this country. We need your prayers.”
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Wrapping up the speech, Trump said, “Ladies and gentlemen, with your help and God’s grace, the Great Revival of America begins on November 5, 2024! Thank you once again to the National Religious Broadcasters. … God bless you, and God bless America!”
Watch Trump’s powerful, pro-Christian speech here:
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video