Trump: Harris ‘destructive to Christianity’, Catholics ‘treated worse than anyone’

Washington DC Newsroom October 22, 2024 / 5:15 pm

Former President Donald Trump continued to court Catholic and other Christian voters at a campaign rally in Charlotte, North Carolina, accusing Vice President Kamala Harris of “ruining Christianity” and claiming that Catholics are “treated worse than anyone else.” -or”.

Monday night’s “11th Hour Faith Leaders Meeting” rally came 15 days before Election Day in a key state that Trump won in 2016 and 2020. Polls show Trump with a slight lead in the Tar Heel State, with Harris receiving just half the votes. is a percentage point behind the former president—well within the margin of error.

“(Harris) is very destructive to Christianity and very destructive to evangelicals and the Catholic Church,” Trump told rally attendees. “…She is your worst nightmare. Much worse, much worse than (President Joe) Biden, and he wasn’t that hot.”

Trump cited a leaked FBI memo from Richmond outlining plans to investigate alleged connections between so-called “radical Catholic traditionalists” and the “far-right white nationalist movement.” The document, which was later withdrawn, proposed developing sources in Catholic churches offering the Traditional Latin Mass, as well as in traditionalist Catholic online communities.

“The FBI will send spies into Catholic churches (if Harris wins),” Trump said. “I don’t know how many Catholics there are, but if you’re a Catholic, you can’t vote for these people. These people are a nightmare. I don’t know what they have against Catholics, but Catholics are treated worse than everyone else.”

After the note became public and was retracted, the FBI said it was the product of “one FBI field office” and “did not meet the FBI’s strict standards.” However, a House Judiciary Committee investigation found that multiple FBI field offices collaborated to facilitate investigations into Catholics. The FBI’s internal review and the Biden-Harris Justice Department report found there was “no malice” on the part of FBI officials.

Trump also criticized Harris for an incident at one of her campaign rallies in which two college students said they were asked to leave after shouting “Jesus is Lord.” The video showed other protesters also shouting “Lies!” and “Liar!” at Harris before she responded, “You guys have the wrong rally.”

“She heard shouting in the background: Jesus is Lord; Jesus is Lord,” Trump said. “Kamala Harris ridiculed them, mocked them and said they came… to the wrong rally. She basically said, “Get out.”

At the rally, Trump promised to sign an executive order banning “transgender craze” in public schools and enact a national ban on transgender surgeries on minors, which he called “child sexual mutilation.” He also said he would “keep men out of women’s sports.”

“I will take historic action to defeat the toxic poison of gender ideology and affirm that God created two sexes: male and female,” Trump said.

Trump also said he would not allow the IRS to use the Johnson Amendment to punish churches and pastors who speak out on political issues. He said that during his first term he defended “the religious freedom of doctors, nurses, teachers and religious groups such as the Little Sisters of the Poor.”

“On November 5th, Christian voters are expected to turn out in the largest numbers ever,” Trump said at the rally. “…I hope we get numbers that we haven’t seen before.”

In the final stages of the campaign, Trump also targeted Latino Christians in his home state of Florida. On Tuesday, he attended a pro-Trump event with Latinos in Miami. Attendees included Goya Foods CEO Bob Unanue and Catholic actor Eduardo Verastegui.

At the end of the meeting, a group of Christians, including several Catholics, prayed for Trump, asking God to strengthen the former president and help him “make America godly again.”

Harris also sought to reach Christian voters as the election approaches, speaking over the weekend at two Atlanta-area Protestant churches with predominantly black congregations. Recent polls show Trump with a slight lead over Harris in Georgia, but that lead is within the margin of error.

A report from Arizona Christian University released earlier this month found that more than 100 million Americans with a religious faith do not plan to vote. This includes 46 million people who attend Protestant church services and 19 million Catholics who attend mass.

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