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Trump Portrays Himself as Defender of Faith for Evangelicals

Associated Press

   MIAMI - Highlighting his record on religious liberty, President Donald
   Trump on Friday worked to energize a group of evangelical supporters
   who make up an influential piece of his political base that could prove
   vital in battleground states.

   Trump spoke to more than 5,000 Christians, including a large group of
   Latinos, at a Miami megachurch, just days after he was the subject of a
   scathing editorial in Christianity Today magazine that called for his
   removal from office. Thousands of the faithful lifted their hands and
   prayed over Trump as he began speaking and portrayed himself as a
   defender of faith.

   ``We're defending religion itself. A society without religion cannot
   prosper. A nation without faithcan notendure,`` said Trump, who also
   tried to paint his Democratic rivals for the 2020 election as threats
   to religious liberty. ``We can't let one of our radical left friends
   come in here because everything we've done will be gone in short
   order.''

   ``The day I was sworn in, the federal government war's on religioncame
   to an abrupt end,'' Trump declared. He later added: ``We can smile
   because we're winning by so much.''

   Points of emphasis

   Although some of his address resembled his standard campaign speech,
   Trump cited his support for Israel, installation of federal judges,
   prison reform and a push to put prayer in public school. Those
   areissueshis Republican re-election campaign believes could further
   jolt evangelical turnout that could help them secure wins in states
   like Michigan, Florida, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Georgia.

   Friday'skickoff of ``Evangelicals for Trump'' will be followed in the
   weeks ahead by the launches of ``Catholics for Trump'' and ``Jewish
   Voices forTrump.`` It also camedays after Trump and his wife went to an
   evangelical Christmas Eve service in West Palm Beach rather than the
   liberal Episcopalian church in which they were married and often attend
   holiday services.

   Advisers believe that emphasizing religious issues may also provide
   inroads with Latino voters, who have largely steered clear of
   supporting the president over issues like immigration. Deep into his
   speech, Trump touched on the issue by praising his border wall. His
   aides believe even a slight uptick with faith-focused Latinos could
   help Trump carry Florida again and provide some needed breathing room
   in states like Texas.

   The president made no mention of the editorial, which ran in a magazine
   founded by the late ReverendBilly Graham.

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