President Donald Trump on Friday said his Democratic opponents would tear down crosses and pledged to bring prayer to public schools at a re-election rally to shore up evangelical support.
Trump spoke on the outskirts of Miami at the King Jesus International Ministry, a “prosperity gospel” church that teaches that the faithful will be rewarded with health and wealth on earth.
“We are defending religion itself, it’s under siege,” Trump said. “A society without religion cannot prosper.”
MORE: Trump Ordered Death of Soleimani — Responds on Twitter With Giant American Flag
More than 80 percent of white evangelicals voted for Trump in the 2016 election.
Attendees, some of them wearing Trump’s signature red campaign hats, nearly filled the room, which the church says holds 7,000. Some raised their hands in a sign of praise and swayed while music played loudly over the speakers before the president entered the room.
TRUMP: "Very soon I'll be taking action to safeguard student's and teacher's First Amendment rights to pray in our schools. We're doing a big action. Attorney General Bill Barr." pic.twitter.com/iCasxinUSo
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 3, 2020
Pastors gathered around Trump on the stage for an opening prayer, while much of the audience remained standing with their hands aloft.
In his speech, Trump mocked Democratic challenger Pete Buttigieg, the Indiana mayor, for having what he said was an unpronounceable last name, and told attendees Democrats were waging war against religion.
“These angry radicals want to impose absolute conformity by censuring speech, tearing down crosses and symbols of faith and banning religious believers from public life.”
He got a big reaction from the crowd when he promised to bring religion into U.S. schools.
“Very soon I’ll be taking action to safeguard students and teachers’ First Amendment rights to pray in our schools,” Trump said. “They want to take that right along with many other ones.”
According to a 2019 survey by the Pew Research Center, 43 percent of U.S. adults, or some 110 million people, identify with Protestantism; 59 percent of those, or 64 million, are born-again or evangelical Christians.
Christian support for Trump remained relatively constant from his inauguration until March of 2019, Pew Research shows.
MORE: Iraqis Praise Trump After He Kills ‘Their Tormentor’ — Celebrate in the Streets of Baghdad
(Additional reporting by Mohammad Zargham in Washington; Editing by Tom Brown)
About Post Author
