[UNITED STATES] On Monday, Donald Trump urged Christian voters to vote in the 2024 election, arguing that a Kamala Harris administration would limit religious liberty and portraying himself as a Christian advocate.
During a "11th-Hour Faith Leaders Meeting" in North Carolina, a series of conservative pastors warmed up for Trump, including Guillermo Maldonado, a "apostle" and longstanding Trump admirer who framed the election in perilous terms.
"You know, we're now in spiritual warfare," Maldonado remarked, alluding to the belief that Christians are at war on a supernatural level with wicked forces that affect the real world. "It goes beyond left-right fighting. It's between good and evil. There is a tremendous war going on right now that affects our country, and we need to take it back."
The event, which drew hundreds of religious leaders from across the country, underscored the growing importance of faith-based voters in the upcoming election. Many attendees expressed concerns about what they perceive as an erosion of traditional values and religious freedoms under the current administration. Trump's campaign team has been actively courting this demographic, recognizing their potential to swing key battleground states.
Introducing Trump, Ben Carson, the campaign's National Faith Chairman for the 2024 race, bluntly criticized the concept of secular society.
"This election is about whether we are a secular nation or one nation under God," Carson declared, echoing the goals of Christian nationalists who see the United States as a Christian nation that must return to God.
In a rambling address, Trump discussed the assassination attempt at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, relying on the belief shared by many Christian conservatives that God intervened to preserve his life.
"My faith took on new meaning on July 13 in Butler, Pennsylvania, where I was knocked to the ground, essentially by what seemed like a supernatural hand," according to Trump. "And I would like to think that God saved me for a purpose, and that's to make our country greater than ever before."
He encouraged Christians to vote.
"You have a reputation of not voting proportionately," the president stated. "Christians, evangelicals … but Christians and gun owners don't vote." The former president promised, as he regularly does, to repeal the Johnson Amendment, which prevents non-profit organizations, including churches, from sponsoring political candidates.
"Within the first week, you're gonna have that right," Trump informed the nation.
Critics of Trump's approach argue that his appeals to religious voters are more about political expediency than genuine faith. They point to his past behavior and policies that some view as inconsistent with Christian values. However, supporters maintain that Trump's actions in office, particularly his judicial appointments and stance on issues like abortion, demonstrate his commitment to protecting religious freedoms.
While in office, he hailed his decision to relocate the US embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, which was harshly condemned by world leaders for escalating tensions between Israel and Palestinians. "I said, 'We are going to do exactly what a lot of people didn't want me to do,'" Trump admitted.
Many evangelicals and nondenominational Christians believe Israel is the location of the end-times prophesy, and militant support for Israel is widespread on the Christian right.
Trump also spoke out against transgender inclusion and gender-affirming healthcare, promising to "take historic action to defeat the toxic poison of gender ideology and reaffirm that God created two genders: male and female".
Earlier on Monday morning, Trump's son Eric, who co-hosted the event with Carson and Trump, was featured on the Prophets & Patriots program on ElijahStreams, a streaming service and hub for Christian right prophets.
"One of the things that really bothers me is: you see a constant war in this country against God, from the current administration, from the Obama administration," Mr. Trump remarked.
"They really have gone after religious liberty in this country unlike anything we've ever seen before, and I don't think you've ever had a bigger proponent of religious liberty than under Donald Trump."
During the conversation, Eric Trump told his audience that "there is a hand of God on my father's shoulder" and claimed that an angel had spared him from an assassination attempt.
The intersection of religion and politics has long been a contentious issue in American public life. While the Constitution enshrines the separation of church and state, faith has historically played a significant role in shaping political discourse and voter behavior. Trump's campaign strategy of explicitly courting religious voters has reignited debates about the appropriate boundaries between faith and governance in a pluralistic society.
According to Eric Trump, one of the minds behind the North Carolina religion leaders conference was Clay Clark, an Oklahoma entrepreneur and co-founder of the ReAwaken America tour, which has a lineup of pro-Trump conspiracy theorists and charismatic Christian preachers.
The ReAwaken America tour, like Monday's religion leaders conference, featured figures from the New Apostolic Reformation, a Christian right organization that supports modern-day prophets and apostles while seeking Christian dominance over society and government.
"The faith leader's event is gonna be incredible," declared Eric Trump on an episode of Prophets & Patriots on October 11. "Clay's been the backbone of so much of this event."
Trump's faith coalition, in which evangelicals have long played an important role, is tightly linked to the leaders of a burgeoning movement of nondenominational charismatic preachers and self-proclaimed prophets who see Trump as a savior figure.
Last month, JD Vance performed at a stop on Lance Wallnau's Courage Tour, a pro-Trump tent revival that crisscrossed battleground states in the months leading up to the election, attempting to boost Trump support.
The open relationship with persons like Wallnau, who has claimed that the US is on the verge of civil war and accused Harris of practicing "witchcraft," could be a risk, considering the enormous influence such figures exert among their adherents - and the indignation they elicit among the uninitiated.
As the 2024 election approaches, the role of faith-based voters and religious messaging in political campaigns is likely to remain a focal point of public discourse. Analysts will be closely watching how different candidates navigate the complex terrain of appealing to religious constituencies while maintaining broad appeal in an increasingly diverse electorate. The outcome of these efforts could have significant implications for the future of American politics and the ongoing debate about the place of religion in public life.
