Former President Donald Trump emphasized the importance of Christianity in restoring America on Thursday as he pledged to build on his record of protecting religious liberty if he wins a second term.
Trump drew loud cheers and applause with his remarks at the annual National Religious Broadcasters convention taking place in Nashville, Tennessee.
“I really believe it’s the biggest thing missing from this country, the biggest thing,” he said. “We have to bring back our religion. We have to bring back Christianity.”
“We have to bring back our religion; we have to bring back Christianity in this country!” – President Trump.⁰
Watch President Trump’s NRB Speech: https://t.co/NGJEPz6a34 pic.twitter.com/5l8eWbx6Te
— Real America’s Voice (RAV) (@RealAmVoice) February 23, 2024
“The Biden administration wants to do major harm to you. … You cannot let people vote for the Democrats. They’re really wanting to change our whole system of values,” he contended.
Trump offered the example of leftists’ efforts to use their positions in government to redefine gender, which he said his administration would counter in a second term.
“I will also take historic action to fight the toxic poison of gender ideology and restore the timeless truth that God created two genders, male and female,” Trump said. “I will keep men out of women’s sports.”
“I will sign a law preventing child sexual mutilation in all 50 states. No more,” he said.
Do you agree that America needs to bring Christianity back?
The former president also promised to establish a task force to fight “anti-Christian bias,” by investigating “all forms of illegal discrimination, harassment and persecution against Christians in America.”
Trump citied the examples of President Joe Biden’s Justice Department targeting Christian pro-life supporters and Catholics.
He specifically referenced the case of six pro-life activists convicted last month for peacefully praying and singing hymns outside of an abortion clinic in 2021. They now face over 10 years in prison.
In the last year, more than a dozen pro-lifers have been convicted of federal crimes, with eight more set for trial in April, Christianity Today reported.
“Those criminal prosecutions were rare before 2021, with one or two cases annually for the past decade,” the news outlet said.
Trump also emphasized the importance of preserving the nation’s political and religious heritage in public places.
“They wanted to take the name George Washington off a school,” Trump said. “When you lose George Washington, you’ve just about hit the bottom. That means everything comes off the names of buildings.
“Even the name Trump. … There won’t be a Trump up there, I can guarantee you that,” he quipped. “If Washington can’t make it, and Lincoln can’t make it, I’m going to have a big problem having my name on buildings.”
Trump further stated, “They want to tear down crosses where they can and cover them with social justice flags.
“But no one will be touching the cross of Christ under the Trump administration. I swear to you that will never happen,” he said, once again prompting applause.
“No one will be touching the Cross of Christ under the Trump Administration.” — President Trump at NRB Convention in Nashville, Tennessee pic.twitter.com/MPalmz3AUI
— RSBN 🇺🇸 (@RSBNetwork) February 23, 2024
“We will protect God in our public square,” the Republican presidential candidate pledged.
Trump also promised to stand proudly with “our friend and ally, the state of Israel,” pointing to the decisions during his first term to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem and recognize Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights.
Evangelicals, as a demographic, tend to strongly back Israel.
The 45th president expressed the faith that the tide can be turned in America away from the destructive direction that leftists are taking it.
“Today we are in another struggle for the survival of our nation,” Trump said, referring back to World War II, when the NRB formed in 1944. “I believe it’s the most dangerous point in the history of our country.”
“I’m here today because I know that to achieve victory in this fight, just like in the battles of the past, we still need the hand of our Lord and the grace of almighty God,” Trump said.
Past presidents, including George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Roosevelt, all appealed to Christian faith as the nation faced some of its most difficult challenges.
Washington spent a good part of his inaugural address acknowledging God’s role in aiding the U.S. in its journey to freedom during the Revolutionary War.
In his second inaugural address in March 1865 as the Civil War still raged, Lincoln cited the Bible four times and mentioned God 14 times.
Roosevelt famously led the nation in prayer in a radio broadcast on D-Day, June 6, 1944, following the Allied landings in Normandy, France, to begin the liberation of western Europe from Nazi Germany.
FDR, in fact, saw the fight as one to preserve Christian civilization from paganism.
Trump concluded his speech Thursday, saying, “Ladies and gentlemen, with your help and God’s grace, the great revival of America begins on Nov. 5, 2024.”
