Trump Pitches Grim Platform to Christian Voters in Nashville

Former President Donald Trump served as the keynote speaker for the 2024 National Religious Broadcasters’ International Christian Media Convention in Nashville Thursday. At the event, the conclusion of a three-day conference at Gaylord Opryland Convention Center, he pitched himself to Christian voters and previewed some of his proposed policies should he be reelected in November.

Hundreds of people gathered for the keynote, many of them sporting red-and-white “Make America Pray Again” hats. Other speakers included NRB president and CEO Troy A. Miller, broadcaster Hugh Hewitt and The Heritage Foundation president Kevin Roberts. Gospel quartet Ernie Haase and Signature Sound performed extended religious songs to keep the crowd entertained.

Trump, who is currently facing numerous criminal charges, took the stage more than an hour-and-a-half after his scheduled speaking time, later blaming the delay on severe weather. His entrance was preceded by a theatrical recording of the former president reciting the Pledge of Allegiance over a recording of the national anthem, performed by what was purported to be the “J6 hostages” — a reference to the hundreds of people charged with crimes related to the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection.

"The moment I win the election, I will appoint a special task force to rapidly review the cases of every political prisoner who has been unjustly victimized," Trump said, alleging that the Biden administration is "targeting religious believers," a statement that received huge applause from the crowd. Trump’s speech contained many of his familiar and frequently factually inaccurate talking points and rhetoric.

“We have to save our country, but Christians, they can’t afford to sit on the sidelines in this moment,” he said.

Trump brought up the recent conviction of six anti-abortion activists who in 2021 traveled to Mt. Juliet, Tenn., to block access to an abortion clinic, calling their conviction "the beginning of a communist state."

Trump referred to President Joe Biden and his cabinet and supporters as "evil people" who he said are a "threat to democracy."

Trump continued to throw his political support behind Israel and American evangelicals, railing against secular Americans and the “deep state,” threatening to usher in a new era of a symbiotic church-and-state, with the creation of a “new federal task force on fighting anti-Christian bias."

"Its mission will be to investigate all forms of illegal discrimination, harassment and persecution against Christians in America," Trump continued, adding that he will also pursue more traditional efforts such as the appointment of "rock-solid conservative judges in the mold of justices Antonin Scalia and the great Clarence Thomas."

Trump also vowed to reform education, pledging "to take back our education system from the communists and the freaks," specifically saying that he will end federal funding for schools "pushing critical race theory and transgender insanity." He pledged to "support a policy of universal school choice" and promised to grant "529 education savings accounts to be used for homeschooling expenses up to $10,000 a year, per child, completely tax-free," as well as reiterating conservative calls to shut down the U.S. Department of Education.

"With your prayers, your voice and your vote, we will reclaim our government from these horrible tyrants," Trump said, promising he will "restore faith and family to the center of American life” and declaring that "the great revival of America begins on Nov. 5, 2024."

See photos from the event below.