Washington, June 27 (IANS) President Donald Trump used a gathering of conservative Christian activists to declare that religion is “back” in the United States, highlight his administration’s policies on religious liberty and social issues, and warn that what he described as the rise of “communism” posed the greatest threat to the country.
Addressing the annual Faith & Freedom Coalition’s Road to Majority conference in Washington, Trump said his administration had moved swiftly to reverse policies of his predecessor and protect religious believers.
“While I am in the White House, I will defend Christians and all Americans of faith 100 per cent,” Trump said. “You have it 100 per cent, and you’ve seen it already.”
Trump credited faith-based voters and conservative organisations with helping secure his election victory, telling the audience they had “saved our country and we saved religious freedom in America.”
He said his administration had created the first Presidential Commission on Religious Liberty, established a White House Faith Office and set up a Justice Department task force “to eradicate anti-Christian bias.”
Trump also pointed to executive actions on education, abortion and gender issues. He said his administration had expanded school choice, issued guidance protecting prayer in public schools and stopped federal funding for schools that, in his words, “push transgender insanity on our youth.”
“I made it the official policy of the United States government that there are only two genders, male and female,” he said.
The President urged Congress to pass the SAVE America Act, saying voters should be required to present photo identification and proof of citizenship. He also called for tighter restrictions on mail-in voting.
“All voters must show photo ID,” Trump said. “All voters must provide proof of citizenship.”
A significant part of Trump’s speech focused on domestic politics. He repeatedly described some recently elected left-wing politicians as “communists” and argued they represented the most serious danger facing the country.
“This is the most serious threat to our country since its existence, in my opinion, 250 years ago,” Trump said. “These are not social Dumocrats, these are hardcore, Godless communists.”
He also criticised rent control proposals in New York, arguing such policies would damage cities and eventually the country.
Turning to foreign policy, Trump defended recent US military action against Iran and repeated his longstanding assertion that Tehran would never be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon.
“Last week, we signed a historic agreement to accomplish what no president has ever been able to accomplish before — that Iran will never have a nuclear weapon,” he said.
Trump claimed Iran’s military capabilities had been significantly degraded, saying the country now had “no Navy, no Air Force, no anti-aircraft capability, no radar, virtually no manufacturing.”
He also referred to the 2020 killing of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, calling it “one of the biggest things ever to happen in the Middle East.”
On immigration, Trump said his administration had restored border security and achieved “the strongest and most secure border in the history.”
“For the past 13 months, zero illegal aliens have been admitted into the United States, zero,” he said.
Trump also highlighted what he described as record military recruitment, economic growth and stock market gains during his administration. He argued that tariffs were encouraging manufacturers to invest in the United States and said the country was entering what he called a “Golden Age of America.”
The Faith & Freedom Coalition is one of the most influential conservative Christian organisations in the United States and has long played an important role in mobilising evangelical voters during Republican election campaigns. Trump has addressed the group’s annual conference multiple times and continues to enjoy strong support among evangelical Christians, a key constituency within the Republican Party.
–IANS
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