Benzinga - by Anthony Noto, Benzinga Editor.
Former President Donald Trump, who is expected to appear in court on March 25 for hush money payments he made to a porn star, spoke at the National Religious Broadcasters (NRB) International Christian Media Convention Thursday night in Nashville.
What Happened: According to local Nashville news outlet WKRN, Trump was introduced at the event as Jan. 6 defendants sang the national anthem.
“We are going to save this country. It is going to be thanks to the men and women like you, like the people in this audience,” Trump said at the beginning of his address.
“We don’t answer to Washington," Trump went on to say. "We answer to God.”
Trump hyped up the crowd, reminding them of his appointing conservative Supreme Court justices to help overturn Roe v. Wade. He did not, however, mention the recent Alabama Supreme Court ruling where justices ruled that frozen embryos could be considered children under state law.
“We have to bring back religion; we have to bring back Christianity in this country,” Trump said, promising to form a federal task force against “anti-Christian bias.”
Trump also called President Joe Biden “incompetent," adding that he wants to stop the “disaster known as ‘Bidenomics'” and return to “MAGAnomics.”
It's worth noting that Trump’s economy grew 2.3% in 2019 (before the Covid-19 pandemic), whereas, under Biden, the U.S. economy grew 3.1% in 2023.
“[Biden] will not lead us to the promised land,” Trump said. “The greatest threat is from inside our country. We can handle Russia. We can handle all of them if we have a good leader.”
Trump, who often praises Russian President Vladimir Putin, didn't specify how he would "handle" Russia or who "all of them" are.
Why It Matters: Trump, who remains the GOP front-runner for the 2024 presidential election, continues to align his MAGA movement with evangelical voters.
This growing contingent of supporters view the former president as Jesus-like, according to The New York Times. This perspective persists despite the candidate's history of two divorces and the use of language in statements that some compare to the rhetoric found in Adolf Hitler's "Mein Kampf."
Other Republican leaders are explicitly blurring the lines between "church and state," too. House Speaker Mike Johnson, for example, told CNBC in November that the phrase was a "misnomer."
What's Next: Trump, who has been charged in four criminal investigations, faces a key primary election in South Carolina, where his only rival for the GOP nomination is former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley.
The two candidates then face off on Super Tuesday, March 5.
Meanwhile, according to The New York Times, Trump supporters are reportedly trolling Haley on social media using sexual innuendo, and portraying the former UN Ambassador as Shiva, the god of destruction.
Others have directed hate against Haley's son.
Now Read: Trump Warms Up To Bitcoin After MAGA-Inspired Coin Skyrockets 20%
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