Wearing cowboy hats bejewelled with “Free Trump” brooches and waving American flags, evangelical Christians promised to vote for Donald Trump at a key gathering on Saturday, saying that, while he is not perfect, “he’ll do the right thing for America”.
Trump was the keynote speaker at the Faith & Freedom Coalition in Washington DC, a gathering of politically influential conservative Christian activists who campaign for strict abortion regulations and a tougher stance on the southern border. There, he called on his religious supporters to go to the polls in a speech that notably glossed over abortion, which has become a sensitive issue for the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.
Trump joined a slew of speakers including Republican senators, governors, and congressmen and women, among them newly appointed Republican national committee chair Michael Whatley. On stage, he drew cheers from the crowds as he applauded a divisive law signed in Louisiana last week requiring the Ten Commandments to be displayed in every public school classroom.
“Has anyone read the ‘Thou shalt not steal’? I mean, has anybody read this incredible stuff? It’s just incredible,” Trump said to a room that erupted into ecstatic applause. “They don’t want it to go up. It’s a crazy world.”
The day before, the former president had posted his enthusiastic praise for the new law on his social media network, writing in capitals: “I LOVE THE TEN COMMANDMENTS IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS, PRIVATE SCHOOLS, AND MANY OTHER PLACES, FOR THAT MATTER.”
Denne historien er fra June 24, 2024-utgaven av The Independent.
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Denne historien er fra June 24, 2024-utgaven av The Independent.
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