Last Thursday, President Trump delivered a nearly 35-minute speech (
full text) to the
Faith and Freedom Coalition's Road to Majority Conference held in Washington, D.C. Much of the address focused on campaign promises that Trump had made to Christian evangelical groups as well as on more general campaign promises. Here are a few excerpts from his address:
Your voices will resound across the halls of our Capitol, and across the world. We recite today the words of Isaiah Chapter 1, Verse 17: “Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.”
The entrenched interests and failed, bitter voices in Washington will do everything in their power to try and stop us from this righteous cause, to try to stop all of you. They will lie. They will obstruct. They will spread their hatred and their prejudice. But we will not back down from doing what is right. Because, as the Bible tell us -- (applause) -- we know that the truth will prevail, that God’s glorious wisdom will shine through, and that the good and decent people of this country will get the change they voted for and that they so richly deserve. (Applause.) ....
As long as I'm President, no one is going to stop you from practicing your faith or from preaching what is in your heart and from preaching -- and really, this is so important -- from the bottom of my heart -- from preaching from the people that you most want to hear and that you so respect. So we have taken a very, very strong position, and you picked a winner. (Applause.)
So we want our pastors speaking out. We want their voices in our public discourse. And we want our children to know the blessings of God. (Applause.) Schools should not be a place that drive out faith and religion, but that should welcome faith and religion with wide, open, beautiful arms. (Applause.) Faith inspires us to be better, to be stronger, to be more caring and giving, and more determined to act in selfless and courageous defense of what is good and what is right. It is time to put a stop to the attacks on religion. (Applause.)....
Last month, I traveled to Saudi Arabia to speak to the leaders of more than 50 Muslim and Arab countries, and to rally them in the common fight against the terrorism, which is a menace to people of all religions....
Finally, because my administration is deeply committed to the right of religious believers everywhere to be free from persecution, I called on these leaders to protect Muslims, and Christians, and Jews, and people of all faiths. Because you know what’s going on there. And it’s horrible -- horrible. Terrorism is a threat, and it is a big threat to religious liberty around the world. And all responsible nations must protect the right of people to live and worship according to their conscience. (Applause.)
