One might imagine that our staunchly evangelical vice-president would be the most qualified White House official to give remarks at the National Day of Prayer held in the Rose Garden on Thursday. But after Mike Pence gave his statements — including the Muslim Ban-ignoring claim that his boss “has taken steps to ensure that the federal government will never, ever penalize anyone for their religious beliefs ever again” — President Trump took to the podium to share his experience with his own faith.
Unsurprisingly, it became a moment of self defense. “People say, ‘How do you get through that whole stuff? How do you go through those witch hunts and everything else?’” Trump said. “We just do it, right? And we think about God.”
Another highlight from Trump’s speech that ignores his own attempts to limit travel to the United States from predominantly Muslim countries: He claimed that there was limited religious freedom in the U.S. prior to his inauguration. “People were not allowed or in some cases, foolishly ashamed to be using on stores ‘Merry Christmas, Happy Christmas,’” Trump said. “They’d say ‘Happy Holidays.’ They’d have red walls, and you’d never see ‘Christmas.’ That was four years ago.”
It’s an interesting angle, considering that Trump hates Christmas parties. “It makes perfect sense,” a source close to the White House told New York’s Olivia Nuzzi in December 2018. “Because it’s not about him. If it were about him, he’d love it. Christmas is not about him.”
