Washington, USA:
Donald Trump said at the inauguration that he was “saved by God.” Now it appears he is returning his favor with an increasingly conservative and religious focus in his second term as US President. The triple-married billionaire signed an executive order on Friday to open a “faith office” in the White House, led by Televangelist Paula White, Trump’s so-called spiritual advisor.
A day ago, Trump announced a task force under new Attorney General Pam Bondy, eradicating what he called “persecution” of American Christians.
Republicans have also appointed several cabinet members with ties to Christian nationalists, including Vice President J.D. Vance and Secretary of Defense.
All this happens despite the fact that Trump has had a vague relationship with religion for a long time.
Unlike his predecessor Joe Biden, a devout Catholic, Trump rarely appears in churches. He was confirmed by the Presbyterian Church, but said he was “non-denominational.”
Next is sexual scandals, criminal convictions for pornstar hash money cases, and a $60 Trump brand biblical sale on the campaign trail.
But evangelical Christians continued to support him in the 2024 election, as in 2016.
“I changed something.”
During his first term, Trump certainly dabbled in religion. He posed with the Bible outside a church near the White House after security forces cleared the “Black Life Matter” protesters and held prayer meetings with evangelicals in an oval office. Ta.
But now Trump claims he has a forehead in a religious awakening.
The 78-year-old said he has become more religious since he narrowly escaped death when gunman bullets overheard him at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania last year.
“It changed something in me,” Trump said Thursday a prayer breakfast at the Capitol.
“I believed in God, but I feel more strongly about it.”
It’s not that she stopped Trump from rampaging with the bishop who preached at his inauguration service after she called on him to show “mercy” to immigrants and LGBTQ people.
But those who chose to surround themselves in the White House have said.
Many are associated with the new Apostle Reformation Church. This is a Christian nationalist movement that calls for the levers of government and society to be under Christian control.
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson has connected with those involved in the movement. So is Paula White, who leads Trump’s new faith office.
White led the marathon in 2020 and led a widely laughed prayer session, hitting the headlines when Trump called for Joe Biden to win the US election.
Vance converted to Catholicism in his 30s and appeared at the town hall, hosted by key figures from the new Apostolic Church.
The White House issued the executive order for X’s Faith Office on Friday, clearly praying, along with the image of Trump on a determined desk surrounded by white people and several other individuals.
The image was then released again on Saturday, with a quote from Trump saying:
“Restore religion”
Meanwhile, Hegus, a former Fox contributor and military veteran, belongs to a church belonging to the Right-wing Holy Communion of the Christian nationalist group Reformed Evangelical Church (CREC). The movement wants to reestablish biblical laws, with some of its supporters calling for the abolition of women’s rights to vote, US media reported.
Although Trump has not expressed support for such views, he is increasingly adopting a position that pleases America’s religious rights.
He repeatedly boasted that the Supreme Court judge he chose for his first term helped lead to the 2022 overturn of the national abortion rights.
Since taking office, he has sent video messages to the vast anti-abortion march attended by far-right groups, and signed a series of executive orders addressing liberal causes, from diversity to trans rights and abortion.
His prayer breakfast speech at the Capitol this week was unusually explicit in his call for an increased role for religion.
“We have to regain our religion,” Trump said. “Let God return to our lives.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published by Syndicate Feed.)
