Donald Trump said “religion is coming back” in the United States while highlighting his administration’s record on religious liberty during remarks at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C., on Thursday.
Trump began his address by brushing aside questions about his personal faith, referencing remarks he made last year suggesting he might be “maybe not Heaven-bound,” and insisting those comments were intended as humor and taken out of context.
“I say, 'I'm never going to make it to Heaven. I just don't think I qualify. I don't think there's a thing I can do.' But all of these good things I'm doing, including for religion. You know, religion is back now, hotter than ever before,” he told the audience.
The president went on to argue that he has done more for religious freedom than recent predecessors, accusing past administrations of either remaining neutral toward faith or actively opposing it. He singled out Democrats in particular as hostile to religion.
“Certainly modern-day — certainly modern-day presidents, they didn't — they bailed out on you. They bailed out. They want to be neutral. They want to be neutral or against,” Trump said. “You know, the Democrats are against. I don't know how a person of faith can vote for a Democrat. I really don't. And I know we have some here today, and I don't know why they're here, because they certainly don't give us their vote.”
At other moments, Trump adopted a more somber tone, drawing attention to the suffering of Christians worldwide and vowing continued action to protect them from persecution.
“We knocked the hell out of [ISIS] the other day in Nigeria because they were killing Christians. You know about that. They were killing Christians. You can't do that,” he said. “When Christians come under attack, they know they're going to be attacked violently and viciously by President Trump. I know it's not a nice thing to say, but that's the way it is.”
Trump also stated that religious engagement in the U.S. is on the rise, asserting that Bible sales have reached a century-high level and that church attendance among young Americans has surged compared with four years ago.
“I've always said, you just can't have a great country if you don't have religion. You have to believe in something. You have to believe that what we're doing, there's a reason for it. There has to be a reason for it,” he said.
The president received loud applause after announcing plans for a national gathering on May 17, inviting Americans to assemble on the National Mall “to pray, to give thanks and [...] rededicate America as one nation under God” in observance of the country’s 250th anniversary.
Following the speech, Trump faced criticism from some Christians on X for using the prayer breakfast to publicly attack fellow Republicans, including Rand Paul, Thomas Massie, and Chip Roy — all of whom identify as Christians.
Roy responded shortly after the speech, writing on X, “Like you say, Mr. President. I am not always easy but we are good. Love helping you save the country at all hours of the day!”
Massie also addressed Trump’s remarks, stating, “The President of the United States called me a moron at the National Prayer Breakfast this morning because I'm still fighting for what he promised the American people: Reduce big spending, DOGE, no new wars, end foreign aid, defend 1A 2A 4A, prolife, and expose sex traffickers.”
Christian author and radio host Eric Metaxas, a vocal Trump supporter who delivered the keynote address at the National Prayer Breakfast in 2012, appeared to express concern about the tone of the president’s remarks.
“Didn't anyone on the President's team advise him that the National Prayer Breakfast is a prayer breakfast? Didn't someone write a speech for him? What's going on? I think they need to bring me in to help. It's that bad. I love my country and will serve if called,” Metaxas wrote in a post on X.
