Trump Defends Faith

Former President Donald Trump addressed the National Religious Broadcasters convention in Nashville, Tennessee, yesterday.  He received a very warm reception from the large audience of faith-based media influencers.

Trump directly addressed the growing threats to religious liberty – threats I often outline in this daily report. Trump vowed to “protect God in the public square” if he is elected.

Trump promised that one of his first acts as president would be to create a special task force to fight anti-Christian bias, especially in federal law enforcement.

As you know, the current administration has weaponized the law against pro-life activists, while it has done virtually nothing about hundreds of attacks by radical leftists against churches and pro-life organizations.

Trump reminded the audience that every communist and fascist regime in history has tried to either control or stamp out the Church. He warned that the neo-Marxist left wants to tear down crosses and replace them with social justice flags.  How many LGBTQ rainbow flags do you see outside of churches these days?

But Trump defiantly declared, “No one will be touching the cross of Christ under the Trump administration.”

Sadly, the growing religious persecution in America today is undeniable. Attacks on churches have more than doubled during in recent years. Meanwhile, Christians are increasingly discriminated against because of their faith. (Here and here.)

It shouldn’t surprise any Christian in America that Donald Trump is talking about religious persecution. I know firsthand how much he cares about the issue of Christian persecution because President Trump appointed me to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, where I served for three years.

But what many churches and pastors seem to have forgotten or rarely acknowledge is that Donald Trump’s three Supreme Court appointments have provided more protections for churches, pastors, and religious liberty than any president in modern memory.

As Ronald Reagan warned, “If we ever forget that we’re one nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under.” The hour is late, my friends. Men and women of faith must be engaged in this critical decision year for America.

The Hamas Squad

We told you about the recent vote in the House of Representatives condemning the sexual terrorism committed by Hamas against innocent Israelis. It passed almost unanimously because most politicians know it’s not a good look to defend Hamas.

Only one politician publicly “opposed” the resolution – Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI). She voted “present” as some sort of anti-Israel protest. But it’s clear that there is a Hamas Squad in Congress. Tlaib isn’t all alone in her anti-Israel extremism.

An Israeli report was released this week and delivered to the United Nations, detailing the extent of the vicious sexual brutality that Israeli women and girls suffered at the hands of their Hamas captors.

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) publicized the report and urged members of Congress who are demanding a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas to reconsider their position.

That may not seem like a particularly controversial thing to do, but Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Cori Bush (D-MO) attacked AIPAC.

Ocasio-Cortez blasted AIPAC for “targeting” survivors of sexual assault with “horrific rhetoric” and declared AIPAC’s pro-Israel work to be a “great scandal.” Bush, who is a rape survivor, accused AIPAC of “exploiting rape,” along with “bullying” and “lying.”

Former U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman responded to these bizarre and outrageous smears, writing, “Did you just say that condemning Hamas for its sexual atrocities against women somehow offends female members of Congress?”

Some say that “The Squad” is dead. Some of them, like Cori Bush, are facing serious primary challenges.  But I think people are missing a bigger point.

They are called “The Squad” because when they came into office, they were a small contingent that was further left than the left-wing of the Progressive Caucus. Now, many Squad positions are increasingly being adopted by the left. The big difference between “The Squad” and most progressives is that they say it out loud.

Left-Wing Lunacy

With everything that is going wrong in the Windy City, the Chicago Board of Education just voted unanimously to remove all law enforcement resource officers from the public school system.  You can’t cure stupidity or left-wing ideology.

In the immediate aftermath of the 2020 riots, many left-wing jurisdictions did the same thing as the “defund the police” movement swept the country. Now they are bringing them back because it was a bad idea to remove school resource officers in the first place.

Most parents want to protect their kids as much as we protect our banks. But no matter how many people get assaulted, injured, or robbed, some on the left still see the police officers as “the bad guys.”

In San Francisco, where crime is increasingly tolerated rather than prosecuted, a hardware store is trying a novel approach to combat “rampant shoplifting.” During certain hours of the day, the store is only letting in one customer at a time, and they are being escorted by an employee as they walk around the store. Good luck.

And in Oregon, where voters legalized virtually every drug imaginable, fentanyl overdoses are up more than 1,500%, not to mention increases in crime and other social ills associated with illegal drug use. This progressive left experiment has been a total disaster.

I bring up these few examples because this is what happens when the left rules.  Businesses and normal people are driven out by the insanity when everything breaks down. 

2024 Update

The South Carolina Republican primary is tomorrow. The latest polls show Donald Trump leading Nikki Haley by 25 points.

Super Tuesday, March 5th, is two weeks away. Early voting has already started in eight of the 16 states holding primary contests that day.

Looking ahead to the general election, polls continue to show Donald Trump leading Joe Biden, but it’s very close.

Voting is how we make our voices heard. Voting is how we defend our values. Your voice matters. Your values matter. Your vote matters.

But you can’t vote if you’re not registered to vote.  Please take a moment to make sure that you and all your friends and family members are registered to vote.  You can do so quickly and easily at Vote.gov.

Other Headlines

• A new report confirms that tens of thousands of innocent babies have been saved since the Dobbs decision overturned Roe v. Wade.

• Eleven state attorneys general are speaking out against radical DEI policies at Biden’s Federal Aviation Administration. They warn that prioritizing race over merit is putting American travelers at “catastrophic” risk.

• Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is vowing to fight the Biden administration’s “radical re-write” of Title IX regulations (that are meant to protect women and girls) to include men and boys pretending to be women and girls.

• A New York appeals court upheld a previous decision banning New York City from allowing illegal aliens to vote in local elections. This is a significant victory, as legitimizing illegal alien voting is a major goal of the left.

• A Texas biology professor who was fired for teaching the scientific reality of biology – and not woke gender ideology – has been reinstated.