Former President Donald Trump reached out to religious communities on Thursday night, promising to use his second term to defend Christian values against the “radical left.”
The Republican frontrunner described himself as a “very proud Christian” and a “fellow believer” when calling to Christians at the National Religious Broadcasters International Christian Media Convention in Nashville, Tennessee.
The New York businessman claimed that “every communist regime throughout history has tried to stamp out churches, just like every fascist regime has tried to co-opt them and control them.” He added he believes “the radical left is trying to do both.”
Trump continued, saying the left wanted to “tear down crosses” and replace them “with social justice flags,” but under his administration, “no one will be touching the cross of Christ.”
He also boasted about his record with abortion, pointing to the fact that he managed to appoint three conservative judges to the Supreme Court who would go on to overturn Roe v. Wade and return the right to regulate the practice to states.
The former president also pondered how Christians could vote for his Democratic opponent Joe Biden, alluding to anti-religious movements under the Biden administration, such as the FBI claiming that “radical traditionalist” Catholics pose a threat to the country.
He claimed in his speech that his first term did “more to uphold religious freedom than any administration in history, contrasting that of Biden’s.
“How any Christian can vote for a Democrat – Christian or person of faith – how you can vote for a Democrat? It is crazy,” Trump said. “Americans of faith are not a threat to our country; Americans of faith are the soul of our country.”
The now-beloved politician originally met skepticism from Christians upon his entrance into the Republican primaries back in 2016. Many critics pointed to Trump’s divorcing multiple times as a concern for his faith.
“When he came onto the scene, people were skeptical,” said president and CEO of the National Religious Broadcasters Troy Miller. “But I think, as they’ve learned more and listened to Donald Trump speak, the one thing I hear all the time from people … is that they really feel like Donald Trump understands them, and that’s the biggest connection that people make is, ‘This is a guy in politics who gets us, who understands us, who doesn’t talk like he’s an elitist and talk down to us.’”
