By Tyler Arnold
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 22, 2024 / 17:15 pm
Former president Donald Trump continued courting Catholic and other Christian voters at a campaign rally in Charlotte, North Carolina, accusing Vice President Kamala Harris of being “destructive to Christianity” and alleging Catholics are “treated worse than anybody.”
The Monday evening “11th Hour Faith Leaders Meeting” rally came 15 days before Election Day in the important battleground state that Trump won in 2016 and 2020. Polls show Trump with a slight edge in the Tar Heel State, with Harris polling just one-half of 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 to the Catholic Church,” Trump told rally-goers. “… She is your worst nightmare. Much worse, much worse than [President Joe] Biden, and he wasn’t so hot.”
Trump referenced a leaked Richmond FBI memo, which outlined plans to investigate a supposed link between so-called “radical traditionalist Catholics” and “the far-right white nationalist movement.” The document, which was later retracted, suggested developing sources within Catholic churches that offer the Traditional Latin Mass and within traditionalist Catholic online communities.
“The FBI would send spies into Catholic churches [if Harris wins],” Trump asserted. “I don’t know how many Catholics are here, but if you’re Catholic, there is no way you can be voting for these people. These people are a nightmare. I don’t know what they have against Catholics, but Catholics are treated worse than anybody.”
After the memo was leaked to the public and retracted, the FBI asserted that it was the product of “one FBI field office” and “did not meet the exacting standards of the FBI.” A House Judiciary Committee investigation, however, claimed that multiple FBI field offices collaborated to facilitate an investigation of Catholics. An internal review by the FBI and a report from the Biden-Harris Department of Justice claimed there was “no malicious intent” on the part of FBI officials.
Trump also criticized Harris for an incident that occurred at one of her campaign rallies in which two college students said they were asked to leave after shouting “Jesus is Lord.” A video shows that other protesters also yelled “Lies!” and “Liar!” at Harris before she responded by saying, “You guys are at the wrong rally.”
“She heard shouting from the background: Jesus is Lord; Jesus is Lord,” Trump said. “Kamala Harris ridiculed them, mocked them, and told them they were … at the wrong rally. She basically said ‘get out.’”
At the rally, Trump promised to sign an executive order to ban “transgender insanity” in public schools and to impose 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 reaffirm that God created two genders, male and female,” Trump said.
Trump also said he would prevent the IRS from using the Johnson Amendment to punish churches and pastors who speak out on political issues. He said during his first term he protected “the religious freedom of doctors, nurses, teachers, and faith groups like the Little Sisters of the Poor.”
“On Nov. 5, Christian voters need to turn out in the largest numbers ever,” Trump said at the rally. “... I hope that we’re going to get numbers like we haven’t seen.”
In the final stretch of the campaign, Trump has also pursued Latino Christians in his home state of Florida. On Tuesday, he attended an event with Latinos for Trump in Miami. Among the attendees were Goya Foods CEO Bob Unanue and Catholic actor Eduardo Verástegui.
At the end of the meeting, a group of Christians, including several Catholics, prayed over Trump, asking God to strengthen the former president and help him “make America godly again.”
Harris also sought to court Christian voters as the election nears by speaking at two Protestant churches in the Atlanta area with predominantly Black congregations last weekend. Trump holds a narrow lead on Harris in Georgia, according to recent polls, but that lead is within the margin of error.
A report from Arizona Christian University earlier this month found that more than 100 million Americans who identify 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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