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As President Donald Trump gathered with faith leaders in Iowa last week, he vowed to defend religious freedom in the United States, additionally emphasizing his relationship with the state’s church leaders.
President Trump explained to KCCI Chief Political Reporter Amanda Rooker on Thursday, “We have to protect religion. We have to have religious liberty, you know, it’s two words that are not being used very much anymore. And we have to bring it back.”
The president made the remarks while meeting privately with a number of church leaders in Iowa, who offered Trump their “total support” for his presidency in 2024, KCCI added.
“They were very thankful for what I’ve done with Roe v. Wade, obviously, and give me total support. We have a real love fest with the faith leaders of Iowa and the faith leaders throughout the country,” President Trump told the outlet.
Trump, who has championed religious freedom as president, declared Jan. 16, 2021 as Religious Freedom Day.
Citizens get to “commemorate this day with events and activities that remind us of our shared heritage of religious liberty and that teach us how to secure this blessing both at home and around the world,” a press release announced.
President Trump made significant efforts during his time in office to strengthen protections for all Americans’ right to practice their religion, including by enacting measures like the Promoting Free Speech and Religious Liberty executive order.
The measure ensured that “faith-based organizations would not be forced to compromise their religious beliefs as they serve their communities,” the press release added.
In the KCCI interview, President Trump also mentioned Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida and his biggest rival for the 2024 Republican nomination, urging voters to “vote against him” as Trump asserts that, in contrast to DeSantis, he could have everything back to the way it was in just six months.
“We’re way up on him in the polls and we’re ahead of Biden by much more than he is,” President Trump said, adding that DeSantis has been “absolutely crashing” in recent polls.
As RSBN previously reported, Trump has a 28-point advantage over DeSantis in the Republican presidential primary. Trump’s lead over the field is still growing.
