President Donald Trump on Thursday announced several actions he will take to protect religious freedom in America and elevate core Christian foundational values that are a part of the nation’s heritage.
The president delivered two sets of remarks on Thursday morning, split between Statutory Hall at the U.S. Capitol and the Washington Hilton, honoring a traditional National Prayer Breakfast event.
Trump highlighted the importance of American faith during both events. At the Capitol, he said, “The stories of legends like Washington, Winthrop, and Williams remind us that without faith in God, there would be no American story. Every citizen should be proud of this exceptional heritage – we have an unbelievable heritage.”
To preserve the legacies of Americas most profound, faith-filled heroes, Trump announced that he signed an executive order to resume the process of building a new national park dedicated to their memories.
The park will be called the “National Garden of American Heroes,” and it will be filled with statues “of the greatest Americans who ever lived.”
During his remarks at the second event at the Washington Hilton, President Trump expanded on his goals to protect religious freedom.
First, he announced the creation of a commission on religious liberty. He also said he would create a task force, via executive order, headed by newly sworn-in Attorney General Pam Bondi, to “eradicate” instances of anti-Christian bias that arises within the United States.
“The mission of this task force will be to immediately halt all forms of anti-Christian targeting and discrimination within the federal government, including at the DOJ…the IRS, the FBI…and other agencies,” he explained.
He said that this task force would also move to prosecute “anti-Christian violence and vandalism in our society and to move heaven and earth to defend the rights of Christians and religious believers nationwide.”
“If we don’t have religious liberty, then we don’t have a free country,” he added.
Lastly, Trump noted that he would create a new official White House Faith Office, to be headed up by Pastor Paula White.
He told Americans at the Washington Hilton, “After years of decline, Americans are reasserting our true identity as a people ordained by God to be the freest and most exceptional nation ever to exist on the faith of the earth.”
