Former President Donald J. Trump spoke to the evangelical Faith & Freedom Coalition in Washington on Saturday, presenting himself as a champion of religious freedom and a martyr for believing Americans while denouncing the mass persecution of Christians.
Mr. Trump also portrayed himself as having “wounds everywhere,” alluding to his legal troubles while suggesting he was targeted because of his political beliefs.
“In the end, they’re not after me, they’re after you,” Trump said. “I just stand in their way very proudly.”
To thunderous applause, he added: “We need Christian voters to show up in larger numbers than ever before to tell crooked Joe Biden, ‘You’re fired!'”
Mr. Trump’s appeals to evangelicals come at a crucial stage in the presidential campaign. President Biden and Mr Trump will face off in an unusually early debate on CNN on Thursday as polls reflect a tightening of the race. The total of FiveThirtyEight’s national polls shows Mr Biden slightly ahead of Mr Trump for the first time since records began in March, while the election forecast sees the outcome of the race as a coin toss.
Mr Biden traveled to Camp David, the presidential retreat, this weekend to prepare for the debate. He will be joined by Ron Klain, his former chief of staff, who took time off from his White House career to help the president prepare, and other key advisers.
For the former president as the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, the appearance was something of a triumphant return to the event. Thirteen years ago, Mr. Trump was hardly the picture of a social conservative warrior. Now, in his ninth appearance before the group, the former president endorsed many of the culture war conflicts espoused by conservative and religious leaders and outlined his vision for what he can offer the Christian right in a second term as president.
He supported Louisiana’s new law requiring the Ten Commandments to be posted in every public classroom, wondered aloud how anyone could oppose the religious text’s inclusion in schools, and added: “The right to religion is never-ending.” at the door of a public school.” ”
He also promised to “shut down the Federal Department of Education” if elected, a promise that was met with a standing ovation from attendees as members began chanting “Vote, vote, vote.”
He reiterated his lie that the 2020 election was stolen from him and told that the Biden administration was persecuting Christians for their faith, while suggesting that his own legal troubles had made him a martyr on behalf of his supporters. He said that if elected he would “establish a new federal task force to combat anti-Christian prejudice nationwide.”
Mr. Trump’s fiery and righteous rhetoric has coincided with his efforts to appease some on the Christian right who say his abortion policies do not go far enough. Allies of Mr. Trump have asked the former president to support a nationwide abortion ban or pass plans to criminalize abortion pills by enforcing the Comstock Act.
On these issues, Mr. Trump has not given evangelical hardliners what they hoped for. Mr. Trump repeated his assurances that supporters of tougher restrictions should “go with their hearts,” but added: “We have to get elected, we have to win.”
Michael Whatley, a close ally of Mr. Trump and chairman of the Republican National Committee, supported Mr. Trump’s stance against a nationwide abortion ban after his own address to the evangelical group, which preceded Mr. Trump’s.
“We have fought for over 50 years to overturn the tyranny of Roe v. Wade,” Mr. Whatley told reporters after his own address to the Faith & Freedom Coalition, adding: “This is a discussion that needs to be had in each and every state.”
He continued: “We are very happy with the campaign and know where we are going on this issue.”
Donald Eason, the senior pastor of Metro Church of Christ in suburban Detroit who attended the Faith & Freedom Coalition conference, said he supports leaving the abortion issue to the states.
“All powers not delegated to the federal government are automatically part of the state government. The Supreme Court should not have gotten involved in this at all,” Mr. Eason said, but left the door open for national restrictions, adding: “Congress could, of course, step in and enact a national ban.”
Mr. Eason also said he supports Louisiana’s law regarding the Ten Commandments in public classrooms and said the policy should be expanded to other states.
When Mr. Trump spoke to members of the Faith & Freedom Coalition last year, he was just one of many Republican presidential candidates vying for the support of the Christian right — including former Vice President Mike Pence, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former Governor. Nikki Haley from South Carolina.
Now Mr. Trump has regained control of the Republican Party, and his defeated primary rivals have disappeared from the stage – replaced by allies, some of whom claim to be his running mate, including Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York, Tulsi Gabbard, a former Democratic representative from Hawaii, Gov. Kristi Noem of South Dakota and Ben Carson, his former housing secretary.
Gov. Glenn Youngkin of Virginia, who flirted with a run for president this year but ultimately declined to oppose Mr. Trump for the nomination, was given a valuable platform at the conference by being one of the last speakers before Mr. Trump took the stage to give a speech to the group.
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2024-06-22 20:22:50
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