“You have to vote”
Trump promises evangelicals “aggressive protection”
23.06.2024, 04:09 a.m.
A few days before his TV debate with Biden, Trump is courting an important group of voters: devout Christians are among the former president’s most loyal supporters. He urges them to vote and declares himself their patron saint.
Former US President Donald Trump has called on Christian believers in the country to vote in the November election. “Evangelicals and Christians are not voting as often as they should,” he said at a conference organized by the conservative non-governmental organization Faith and Freedom Coalition. If re-elected, he will “aggressively defend religious freedom,” Trump promised.
“We will protect Christians in our schools, our military, our government, our workplaces, our hospitals and our public places,” he added. He also promised a “new government task force to combat anti-Christian prejudice.” This task force would investigate the “illegal discrimination, harassment and persecution” of Christians in the USA.
The political left wants to “silence” conservative Christians, discourage them and keep them out of politics, Trump continued. “They don’t want you to vote, so you have to vote,” he added. Trump will face incumbent Joe Biden in the first TV debate of the election campaign on Thursday.
A playboy as a “proud Christian”
Evangelical Christians predominantly vote for Trump. They played an important role in his election as president in 2016 and also supported him in his second, failed candidacy in 2020. White evangelical Christians make up about 14 percent of the voting population in the USA.
Trump has described himself in the past as a “proud Christian,” although his image as a casino owner and playboy does not seem to fit in with the strict Christian milieu. He is said to not be a regular churchgoer. One way he appealed to evangelical voters was by filling the Supreme Court with very conservative seats, which led to the abolition of the nationwide right to abortion.