...
By Anezka Pichrtova
Live News Reporter
0
Share
Newsweek is a Trust Project member
See more of our trusted coverage when you search.Prefer Newsweek on Googleto see more of our trusted coverage when you search.
Donald Trump said Catholics in the U.S. are being "persecuted" by the current Joe Biden administration in an interview broadcast on FOX News on Monday.
It follows a controversial statement made by the former president at Turning Point Action's Believers' Summit on Friday, in which he said, "Christians, get out and vote just this time. You won't have to do it anymore. Four more years, you know what? It will be fixed. It will be fine. You won't have to vote anymore, my beautiful Christians."
Critics labeled the comments "terrifying," suggesting the implication was that Trump would undemocratically stay in office past four years were he to be elected again.
Read More on News
During the interview, FOX News host Laura Ingraham asked him to explain his words, saying people are attacking him for "ridiculous" reasons.
...
Trump responded by saying that Christians are "treated very badly by this administration."
He continued, "Catholics are treated unbelievably, they're like persecuted,"
It's not the first time Trump has claimed Catholics are being disadvantaged by Biden's administration. In March, he accused Biden of "weaponizing" the FBI to go after political opponents, including Catholics, saying the government "sent SWAT teams to arrest pro-life activists."
A leaked FBI memo in February 2023 referred to "radical-traditionalist Catholics," a fringe group, as presenting an extreme threat. Anti-abortion activist Mark Houck was arrested by a SWAT team in 2022 following an altercation outside a Planned Parenthood.
Biden, a Catholic himself, has faced criticism from prominent figures within the U.S. Catholic church over his views on abortion and LGBTQ+ rights. That said, he appears to have a friendly relationship with Pope Francis, who he visited at the Vatican in 2021. When asked what they discussed, Biden told reporters, "We just talked about the fact that he was happy I was a good Catholic."
Newsweek has reached out to Trump's campaign for comment.
In response to Ingraham's question, Trump also discussed his views on the voting intentions of other religious groups: "If you're Jewish and you're gonna vote for Biden or the Democrats or Kamala — or whoever's gonna run, I guess it's gonna be her — or the Democrats, you should have your head examined because nobody's ever been treated so badly."
He went on to say that his remarks were intended to encourage Christians to vote, arguing that they are an underrepresented voting group.
"You never vote. This time vote. I'll straighten out the country, you won't have to vote anymore. I won't need your vote, you can go back to not voting," he said.
Ingraham then suggested that Trump was referring to the fact that if he were elected, by 2028 he would have served the maximum two terms presidents are limited to by the constitution.
Trump did not acknowledge this point, and pivoted to arguing that "gun owners" don't vote either.
According to Pew Research, Christians accounted for 64 percent of registered voters in the 2020 presidential election. That is significantly lower than a decade prior when it was 79 percent. Nevertheless, eight out of 10 Republican voters are Christians and 52 percent of Democratic voters are Christian.
Do you have a story we should be covering? Do you have any questions about this article? Contact LiveNews@newsweek.com.
View 0 Comments
Submit Correction
View Editorial & AI Guidelines