As thousands of devoted Christians swarmed Washington DC this weekend for a nine-hour prayer festival on the National Mall, the President was up to something very different. 'Rededicate 250: National Jubilee of Prayer, Praise & Thanksgiving' featured evangelical leaders in Washington – but there was no sign of Donald Trump, whose White House backed the event.
Rather than attend the MAGA event, which was focused on 'rededicating the country to God,' Trump was spotted playing golf in Virginia. He did, however, take the time to send two posts on Truth Social.
'I HOPE EVERYBODY AT REDEDICATE 250 IS HAVING A GOOD TIME. IF THERE IS ANYTHING I CAN DO TO HELP, JUST HAVE OUR BEAUTIFUL, BOTH INSIDE AND OUT, RACHAEL C.D., GIVE ME A CALL,' he wrote. In his next post, Trump said: 'For Iran, the Clock is Ticking, and they better get moving, FAST, or there won't be anything left of them. TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE! President DJT.'
In his second term, Trump and his allies have taken what they call a more 'Christian' approach to leadership. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has long called for a Christian nationalist approach to leadership. He, like his superior, skipped the festival but addressed the gathering through a video message.
'Let us pray as George Washington did,' Hegseth said. 'Let us pray without ceasing. Let us pray for our nation on bended knee.'
Reverend Paula White-Cain, who works as a senior faith advisor to the White House, said of this weekend's event: 'It's about the history and the foundations of our nation, which was built on Christian values, on the Bible. This is really truly rededicating the country to God.'
Even while touting Christian values, Trump found himself in hot water after sharing an AI-generated image of himself as Jesus Christ – infuriating even the most staunch MAGA supporters. He later claimed it showed him as a 'doctor,' but critics were unconvinced. One replied to the now-deleted image: 'The book of Revelations speaks of this, are you literally depicting yourself as a saviour or messiah? Just asking, as the Book of Revelations tells us the Antichrist will claim he is.'
Trump also found himself embroiled in a battle of words against Pope Leo, who he said was 'catering to the radical left.' On Easter Sunday, he threatened to wipe out an entire civilisation in Iran if his demands were not met.
