U.S. President Donald Trump accused the Democratic left of being "hardcore, godless communists" in a divisive, politicized speech Friday about his perceived foes as he addressed evangelicals at a right-wing Christian conference.
Speaking in Washington after the success of three progressive candidates in New York's Democratic primary elections this week, Trump called left-wing ideology an "uncontrollable form of cancer" that will ensure America is "taken down."
"These are not social democrats. These are hardcore, godless communists," Trump said. "This is the most serious threat to our country since its existence."
At his 10th appearance at Road to Majority, an annual gathering of some 3,000 evangelicals from the Faith and Freedom Coalition in Washington, Trump attacked the "evil" and "incompetent" administration of his predecessor Joe Biden.
He made the bizarre and false claim that Biden -- a devout, churchgoing Catholic -- had jailed Christians for praying and again reprised his baseless claims that his defeat to the veteran Democrat in 2020 was the result of a "rigged" election.
Despite a career mired in legal and ethical scandals -- from alleged affairs to felony business fraud convictions and accusations that he abused his office in a bid to subvert the 2020 election -- the twice-divorced Trump remains popular with the evangelical right.
To many conservative Christians, the 80-year-old Republican leader is less a model of private virtue than a vehicle for political power.
Trump boasted of making it "official policy" that there are only two genders, touted the creation of a White House faith office and took credit for "saving Christians throughout the world" through military action in Nigeria and elsewhere.
He reprised a familiar false claim from his rallies about US elections being beset by fraud, pushed for the passage of a bill to introduce onerous new voting restrictions and railed against Republicans opposing the measure -- calling out Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski by name.
Trump accused the mainstream Democratic Party of becoming communist. He boasted that he "would be the greatest communist in history" but said it would lead to Americans living in squalor, railing against the leftists who "hate" America.
The grassroots Faith and Freedom Coalition has always treated Trump as a superstar -- even after his convictions for paying hush money to a porn star who alleged the Republican had slept with her shortly after his wife Melania Trump gave birth.
The conference was being staged in the week of the four-year anniversary of the US Supreme Court ending the nationwide right to abortion, a topic on which Trump was conspicuously silent.
The president has voiced disquiet about some of the more restrictive curbs being pushed in conservative states.
He also sparked fury among some leaders on the Christian right when he blamed harsh restrictions on abortion for Republican underperformance in the 2022 midterm election -- and he refused to commit to a federal ban during the 2024 campaign.
© 2026 AFP
25 Comments
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TaiwanIsNotChina
It takes a serial polygamist and felon to tell us about who knows God.
patkim
Nope. It's the Christian Nationalists that Trump supports who are the biggest threats to society. They constantly spew hate and division. Those evangelicals politicize and use Christianity to continuously use religion as a money-making tool to further hurt the gullible people who follow them.
On the other hand, the liberals who follow the actual teachings of Christ, and who actually read the Bible (yes, Trump obviously hasn't), are for the separation of church and state, and for good reason. They preach love, non-violence, inclusion, and unity. All core values in the teachings of Jesus Christ.
NCIS Reruns
Wow, if that's not shameless pandering, I don't know what is.
TaiwanIsNotChina
Maybe Trump can quote us from Two Corinthians if he can figure which end of the Bible is up.
Cephus
"It takes a serial polygamist and felon to tell us about who knows God."
Depending on interpretation the Great Sir Moses had two wives, and had murdered someone and guess what he was a friend of God.
Cephus
"On the other hand, the liberals who follow the actual teachings of Christ, and who actually read the Bible (yes, Trump obviously hasn't), are for the separation of church and state, and for good reason. They preach love, non-violence, inclusion, and unity. All core values in the teachings of Jesus Christ."
It sounds really good until you popup the hood and find it's all diluted theology not based on truth but the needs of your stomach. In 2 Timothy 4:3–4, Paul was warning that people will prefer teachings that fit what they want to hear instead of the truth. Most liberals falls in that category.
Cephus
"Wow, if that's not shameless pandering, I don't know what is."
Finally the 47th sided with the truth!
Cephus
"Maybe Trump can quote us from Two Corinthians if he can figure which end of the Bible is up."
It seems you are just reflecting self, what is two Corinthians or did you mean Second Corinthians?
wallace
Trump is stirring the white supremacist wing. The separation of Church and State has gone awry.
bass4funk
No, they’re not, if they were, none of these Communists would have won anywhere in the US.
Not supporting same sex, drugs, murdering of babies is not spreading hate
And they reject god at every corner, reject all the tenents of religion, particularly Christianity and of its traditional teachings, they are as Christian as I am a liberal progressive.
wallace
Whatever happened to the freedom of religion?
Ah_so
There aren't many beliefs I share with Donald Trump, but we both share a lack of belief in God. It is clear that Trump believes in God no more than my Dog does.
Trump has never been a church goer in his life. So if his evangelical fans believe that he believes, they will believe anything.
Cephus
"Trump is stirring the white supremacist wing. The separation of Church and State has gone awry."
Don't ever get tired of that hogwash? And how are you going to separate the Almighty God and his creation, and I mean following that logic of Church and State, and mind you not every Church stands for truth
Bob Fosse
Keep your religion to yourself.
Cephus
"Whatever happened to the freedom of religion?"
A logical good question, and here is the answer, freedom of religion was hijacked by the Sodomites tribe trying to shove their ideologies on other's throats
wallace
I do not believe in God. The Constitution requires the separation of State and Church.
plasticmonkey
Doesn’t matter if he’s a Christian or not. Trump is the most amoral president ever.
plasticmonkey
They’re not communists. You don’t need to parrot every untruth that comes out of his pie hole, you know.
Politik Kills
Who said Americans don’t get irony?!
Whole I’m here…
@Cephus that says more about the type of god your god is than you think.
TaiwanIsNotChina
America was founded to be welcoming to all religions. Hopefully some enterprising members of minority faiths will demand their share of the public school curriculum as well.
Cephus
"There aren't many beliefs I share with Donald Trump, but we both share a lack of belief in God. It is clear that Trump believes in God no more than my Dog does.
Trump has never been a church goer in his life. So if his evangelical fans believe that he believes, they will believe anything."
You might not be lacking in belief as you may think. That couch or chair you are sitting on that's your belief
Cephus
"Keep your religion to yourself."
And keep your ideologies to yourself and we are good!!
Harry_Gatto
Wasn't Trump once quoted as saying that he had a Bible in every room in his house and that it is his favourite book? The man is a serial liar, can't help himself.
Neither Trump nor the average American has a real clue about Communism, what it really is, as they've never seen it in action as most, it seems, have never left their home state let alone left their country.
TaiwanIsNotChina
Same sex marriage is the law of the land and there is no law against abortion and that will not change in your lifetime.
bass4funk
I think he's actually one of the greatest in my lifetime without a doubt.