“Religion’s back now,” according to President Trump. And it’s “hotter than ever before.”
By Catholics for Catholics
President Trump delivered remarks at the 2026 National Prayer Breakfast on Thursday morning and spoke for well over an hour. The president opened by referencing comments that he made aboard Air Force One in the fall when he said “I’m not sure I’m going to be able to make heaven.”
Trump said those comments were in jest, but he seems to think his chances aren’t quite so bad. “I really think I probably should make it. I mean, I’m not a perfect candidate, but I did a hell of a lot of good for perfect people,” he said.
The president spent time taking jabs at political opponents including Rep. Thomas Massie and Sen. Rand Paul, both Republicans, as they frequently make headlines for voting against the party line.
Turning back to the topic of religion, President Trump criticized “modern day presidents” that have bailed out on the faithful, wanting to appear “neutral.”
“I don’t know how a person of faith can vote for a Democrat. I really don’t,” he said. “And I know we have some here today. And I don’t know why they’re here because they certainly don’t give us their vote.” He specifically mentioned the widespread, bipartisan public support for voter ID laws that Democrat politicians still oppose despite public opinion.
While covering a multitude of political issues, he also took time to say that Tulsi Gabbard, Director of National Intelligence, is doing a “great job” and referenced her presence on-site at the FBI’s raid of the election offices in Fulton County, Georgia.
We are going to rededicate America as ONE NATION UNDER GOD. 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/b0jzdLFeSA
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) February 5, 2026
The president returned to issues regarding the faith, recalling military efforts to knock out the terrorists in Nigeria that brutally martyred Christians last year. “They were killing Christians. So you can’t do that,” he said. “When Christians come under attack, they know they’re going to be attacked violently and viciously by President Trump. I know it’s not a nice thing to say, but that’s the way it is.”
The president said he has “all the time” to address matters of religion, referring to other presidents’ lack of interest in dealing with issues of the faithful. He then recalled how God is ingrained in our nation’s very founding:
“But on that momentous day in 1776, history changed forever when our founders proclaimed the immortal truths that echoed around the world and down all the way through time. They declared that all of us are made free and equal by the hand of our Creator. A lot of presidents refuse to say that. They refuse to say that…Some major politicians refuse to say the word ‘God.’ They don’t want to say it. I say it that we are endowed with our sacred rights to life, liberty, and not by government, but by God Almighty himself.”
In the president’s typical meandering fashion, he touched on tariffs, “Sleepy Joe,” military recruitment, colleges, and the Supreme Court before commenting that churches are filling up again despite COVID’s impact on attendance:
“You have to have religion. You have to have it. You have to have faith. You have to have God. And thankfully, as we gather today, there are many signs that religion is coming back. And now it’s no longer signs. It’s just coming back. It’s coming back so strong. You know, your churches are filling up.”
He referred to the governments that arrested people for attending church services during the pandemic lockdowns as “dictators” and the Gestapo.
The president went on to address the recent liberation of churches from the Johnson amendment which previously restricted religious leaders and their non-profits from making certain political statements. People want to hear from “priests” and “ministers,” he said.
He said that they also reinstated military service members that were thrown out due to their refusal to receive the COVID shot, saying that previous administrations used “the vaccines as a way of really punishing people over religion.”
The president began his closing remarks by saying religious leaders were very “brave” during the Biden administration, and he also criticized the actions of the protesters who stormed Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota recently.
Speaking about his efforts to bring peace to the Middle East, he noted, “As the Bible tells us, ‘blessed are the peacemakers.’ That’s true. The peacemakers are very important. But you can only have peace, I find, through strength. If you don’t have strength, peace is very hard. And we have strength.
President Trump finished his speech by commenting on the power of prayer:
“Quite simply, prayer is America’s superpower. It really is a superpower. And it always has been and it always will be. And I have no doubt that with the love, devotion, and patriotism of the people in this room and our friends from all over the world, some great ones right here, we can make our country and the world a safer, stronger, more peaceful, and more faithful place than ever before. And it’s all happening right before your very eyes. And I want to again thank you. God bless you. And God bless America.”
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