Trump says he ‘probably should’ get into heaven, needed 2024 win for 'own ego'
Joey GarrisonWASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has contemplated a lot lately about one of life's big questions ‒ getting into heaven.
The president previously suggested he's not so sure he will. But speaking before the 74th National Prayer Breakfast on Feb. 5, Trump told the crowd that he likes his chances.
"I really think I probably should make it," Trump said. "I mean, I'm not a perfect candidate, but I did a hell of a lot of good for perfect people."
In a meandering 77-minute speech at the Washington Hilton hotel, Trump boasted he's "done more for religion than any other president," arguing his predecessors in the White House "bailed out" on religion. "I don't know how a person of faith can vote for a Democrat. I really don't," Trump said at the nonpartisan event.
Trump claimed he's brought religion and Christianity back to center of American politics and culture, touting efforts to support prayer in school, policies targeting transgender people and the creation of a White House faith office, among other actions. He announced plans to hold an event at the National Mall on May 17 to "rededicate America as one nation under God."
"Some major politicians refuse to say the word God. They don’t want to say it. I say it," Trump said, adding "there are many signs that religion is coming back" under his watch. "It's coming back so strong. You know, your churches are filling up. You didn't have that two years ago," he said.
Trump says he had to win in 2024 for 'own ego'
Trump emerged as a strong ally of the Christian right movement during his first term and has continued the bond into his second term. It once seemed an unlikely marriage for a president who does not attend church regularly and is known for his ruthless attacks on adversaries.
Trump recounted remarks Robert Jeffress, senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Dallas and Trump ally, made about him when he first ran for president in 2016. Jeffress, in Trump's telling, said, "He may not have ever read the Bible, but he will be a much stronger messenger for us. In fact, he may not have ever read the Bible, but he will be a much stronger messenger for us."
Trump in his remarks did not mention the push to target abortions and reproductive rights ‒ a longtime priority of Christian conservatives. Trump's three Supreme Court appointments during his first term were critical in the Supreme Court's 2022 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
And in classic Trump fashion, the president didn't stick just to religion in his remarks.
As he veered off from topic to topic, Trump brought up his 2020 election loss to former President Joe Biden, once again pushing baseless claims the election was stolen. Because "they rigged the second election," Trump said he "had to win" the 2024 election for his ego.
"I needed it for my own ego. I would have had a bad ego for the rest of my life. Now I really have a big ego, though. Beating these lunatics was incredible, right? What a great feeling, winning every swing state, winning the popular vote."
Trump discussed his director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, going beyond her position's typical role by assisting in Justice Department efforts to review Georgia ballots from the 2020 election. The FBI on Jan. 28 executed a search warrant at a Fulton County elections center near Atlanta as part of a probe related to the 2020 presidential election. Georgia is among the states won by Biden that Trump has falsely said were stolen from him.
"She took a lot of heat two days ago," Trump said of Gabbard, "because she went in at Pam's insistence and she looked at votes that want to be checked out from Georgia."
Trump also mocked critics who have called him a "dictator," saying the real "dictators" are the demonstrators and reporters who were arrested for entering the Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota amid Immigration and Customs Enforcement protests in Minnesota.
"They always like to say, 'Trump is a dictator!'" Trump said. "They love that. I'm not a dictator. But they were like dictators. They were like the Gestapo. They were arresting people for going to church."
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