Donald Trump has affirmed his commitment to ending persecution against Christians, as he hit out at “godless communists” he believed were seeking to harm believers in America.
Speaking at the Faith & Freedom Coalition policy conference, the US President said he was “saving Christians throughout the world”, highlighting the military strikes in Nigeria which killed jihadist leaders. US troops have also been working with Nigerian soldiers, to tackle Islamic insurgents who have been behind attacks on churches and congregations.
“We struck Nigeria and largely ended the slaughter of great Christian populations”, President Trump said to a cheering crowd. He believed attacks had reduced, as terrorists know the consequences “will be far greater” as US troops would be “hitting them hard with the greatest weapons on earth”.
The comments came as part of a wider speech praising America’s Christian foundations, looking forward to the nation’s 250th anniversary and rededication as “one nation under God”.
“Our founders invoked the Creator four times in the Declaration of Independence. Four times. I wasn’t mentioned once, I’m very upset”, he said.
“Faith built this country into the most exceptional nation in the history of the world.”
“Americans have always deeply believed in the promise of Christ’s words in the Gospel of Matthew. With God, all things are possible.”
But President Trump, after a number of progressive candidates won elections in the week, warned that his Democrat opponents were seeking to persecute Christians. Ahead of his remarks, he posted on social media that they were “godless communists”.
Left-wing politicians “want to resume the transgender mutilation of children, they want to restart the war on Christians and churches, and as you saw with the communists elected in New York recently […] they want to completely destroy the traditional American way of life,” the President claimed.
“They will close your churches in this country. They go communist, and they’re trying to. They will kill your people and that’s what they’re about. They want to end religion. They have to end religion because their ideology doesn’t work if you have strong religion – people like you that are so incredible and love our country so much and love God”, he told the crowd at the right-wing conference.