Trump Prayer Breakfast Speech: Fighting for God?

Donald Trump, White House photo

Does Donald Trump use faith for the awesome power of doing good, or does he use the awesome force of government to crush all opposition?

“I'm never going to make it to heaven. I just don't think I qualify. I don't think there's a thing I can do.”

So confessed President Donald Trump at the February 5 National Prayer Breakfast. Trump’s thesis was that he, himself, was on a wrong moral path, but he had spread religion across the land. As he spoke about religion, Trump expressed values of power, not wisdom. He boasted that he used his power to spread a religious movement. The Christian Right had long supported Trump, and Trump boasted that he supported their movement! So, what are our values? Like most speeches, this one reflected Trump’s values.

Mike Pence Heckled by the Christian Right Because He Didn't Bow to Trump

Indeed, Trump’s lengthy speech said little about prayer, but much about political triumph. Trump reflected the Christian Right’s view that Christian evangelism needs the power of government. As he did so, Trump revealed the disconnect between the Christian Right’s politics and such Christian values as caring for the poor and protecting vulnerable people. Do we use government policy to advance Christian ideals, such as caring for the downtrodden, or do we instead seek to use government to impose a particular interpretation of religion?

Indeed, former TV star that he is, Trump boasted that he had made religion “hotter:”

“But all of these good things I'm doing, including for religion. You know, religion is back now hotter than ever before. I mean, I have to tell you. But I said even though I did that and so many other things, I named things, I said I won't qualify, I'm not going to make it to heaven. We call him Rand Paul Jr. You know, it's like they just vote no. They love voting no. They think it's good politically. The guy's polling at about nine percent. It's not good, but we have great support and we have great support for religion. You know, I've done more for religion than any other president. When Paula [Rev. Paula White] was saying that, it was so nice.” [italics added]

Did that comment say a thing about prayer? About being religious? No! Trump said he was doing “good things . . . for religion.” He said “great support for religion.” He did not say, “the good things that religion asks us to do.” Trump was only talking about power—the power to spread religion – and conflict – his conflict with Republican Sen. Rand Paul.

Paula White Prayed against Trump's Enemies in 2019

Continuing, Trump absorbed Rev. White’s praise and boasted again that he used his power to spread religion:

“I was proud of it and I said that’s true. I told the people backstage, what she [Rev. White] said is true. Who else would say that, right? But it is true. But then I said, but that’s not saying much because not too many presidents have done too much for religion. I want to tell you that, certainly modern day. Certainly modern day presidents, they didn’t. They bailed out on you.” [italics added]

It is telling that, despite the First Amendment’s provision against an established religion, Trump literally complained that other presidents, including overtly religious presidents like Jimmy Carter or Barack Obama, had done little to advance religion. However, was that their job? Does being a religious president mean that you do religious things, or that your government spreads religion?

Joe Biden, Donald Trump, and the Christian Right Showed Us What We Should Have Known All Along: There Are Two Different Christianities

The Christian Right has, of course, long supported Trump. Paula White had, in fact, been one of many conservative Christian pastors who promoted Trump's candidacy. They overlook his moral failings—failings that he admitted during this speech—to obtain their religious goals. At times, all too often, they seem to worship him like a prophet.

The Golden Trump Statue at CPAC 2021: Why Is the Christian Right Silent?

Rev. Robert Jeffress Prayed a Pro-Trump Political Speech

Franklin Graham Prayed for the Divine Right of (Republican) Presidents

Still, if our national policy becomes to oppress immigrants and the poor, what good has the Christian faith done for us? The Christian Right has indeed gained great power, but to what end? Are they following the teachings of Jesus? Did Jesus say to deport immigrants, make life harder for the poor, to be cruel and hateful? 

With stark clarity, Trump revealed American Christianity’s basic choice: do we trust God enough to follow his laws in public life, or do we seek to rule by power? Speeches do, indeed, reflect our values.

by William D. Harpine

Note:

A recent Pew survey found that White Evangelical Christians still support Trump more than do other groups, but less so than they did a year ago.

Trump made little mention of the Christian religion per se, as opposed to religion in general, but I think most people figured out what he meant. 

Copyright © 2026 by William D. Harpine

Image of Donald Trump: public domain, official White House portrait

Marco Rubio, Climate Change, and the Dark Rhetorical Art of Changing the Point

Marco Rubio

“A climate cult?” That is how United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio addressed global warming at the Munich Security Conference on February 14, 2026.

There is an old lawyer’s saying:

If the facts are on your side, pound the facts. If the law is on your side, pound the law. If neither is on your side, pound the table.

Since none of that would work for Rubio, he instead chose to pound his opponents and change the subject. Rubio did not prove his point, which could not be proven anyway, and instead diverted the audience’s attention just as a magician uses smoke and mirrors to divert an audience’s attention. As Rubio showed, there is more than one way to twist an argument!

So, since Rubio pounded neither facts nor law, let us look at what he did pound. Overall, he gave a remarkable statement of what passes for intellectual conservative orthodoxy. The assembled dignitaries thanked Rubio with thunderous applause, probably, as we shall see in a moment, because Rubio skillfully helped them miss the point. By sneering at the opposition and changing the emphasis, Rubio buried climate science below the level of a footnote.

 
First, let us remember that centuries of burning fossil fuels have raised the earth’s average temperature by about 1°C. That doesn’t seem like a lot, but if you multiply 1°C across the entire planet, well, that’s a lot of energy. Literally thousands of scientific studies have confirmed this beyond any arguable doubt. For example, a research team led by Shae Wolf of the Center for Biological Diversity stated that: “The evidence is clear that fossil fuels—and the fossil fuel industry and its enablers—are driving a multitude of interlinked crises that jeopardize the breadth and stability of life on Earth.” Similarly, the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration affirms the scientific view about global warming: “The current warming trend is different because it is clearly the result of human activities since the mid-1800s, and is proceeding at a rate not seen over many recent millennia. It is undeniable that human activities have produced the atmospheric gases that have trapped more of the Sun’s energy in the Earth system.” [Italics added] Indeed, as far back as 1977, Exxon’s own scientists predicted that burning fossil fuels would warm the climate; indeed, they predicted the results with great accuracy.

Second, conservative orthodoxy denies climate change research. Since climate change research fails to support their side to any degree, one must assume that the multibillion-dollar oil, gas, and coal industries encourage this denial. Conservative orthodoxy avoids discussing science at all since they have little scientific evidence to give.

Third, lacking research or factual basis, Rubio's speech simply repeated conservative dogma. Accordingly, instead of proving his point, he dismissed climate science as if it were a religious cult:

“To appease a climate cult, we have imposed energy policies on ourselves that are impoverishing our people, even as our competitors exploit oil and coal and natural gas and anything else – not just to power their economies, but to use as leverage against our own.” [Italics added]

That was Rubio’s entire statement about climate change. Now, Rubio’s brief comment obviously proved nothing. If you have little to say, say as little as possible! Still, Rubio’s shallow but crafty statement applied several powerful, albeit specious, persuasive methods:

1. Rubio adapted to American conservatives – his real audience – and they are eager to gobble up his point. Thus, he was content to insult climate scientists rather than to deal with their ideas. Rubio could dismiss the scientific consensus only because, for years, Fox News, talk radio, and conservative pressure have loudly ridiculed climate science. Thus, it comes as no surprise when a Pew survey found that Republicans are far less prone than Democrats to worry about climate change.

Thus, Rubio’s main audience didn’t need to hear evidence. 

2. Audiences often think most about the point that the speaker talks about the most. By my count, Rubio spoke 45 words about the climate while devoting about 2,400 words to the unity of Western civilization. By burying his anti-climate point, Rubio led the audience to think about world partnership, not climate change. The world leaders may have bypassed Rubio’s climate point as they, with relief, praised his lengthy appeal for world partnership. Granted, both questions matter, but why bring up climate at all if he wasn’t going to develop the point? 

3. Lacking evidence, Rubio kept his climate discussion brief. Actual arguments about the climate would invite refutation or ridicule, so why take the chance? 

4. Finally, to the extent that Rubio offered arguments at all, he diverted attention from science to economics. He maintained that limiting fossil fuels would create short-term economic destruction: “not just to power their economies, but to use as leverage against our own.” Rubio diverted the audience’s attention by skipping the real argument. 

What you don’t say matters as much as what you do say. Rubio dismissed the issue while saying nothing about climate science. Could Rubio’s rhetorical chicanery convince anyone that climate change is a hoax unless that person wants to be fooled? No, of course not. Nevertheless, can his make-believe intellectualism swing enough people to Rubio’s side to serve his cause? That, I fear, is entirely possible. Indeed, conservatives from Rick Santorum to Jonathan Turley have called Rubio’s absurd speech a masterpiece of statesmanship that might lead him to the White House. In the modern world of brokered power, leaders need support, but, sadly, they don’t need a majority, do they?

If you have the facts, pound the facts. In Rubio’s case, if you have no facts, insult your opponents (“climate cult?”) and change the subject.


Earlier Posts about Climate Speeches

The Solution to Climate Change Is in the Cities: President Ursula von der Leyen's Speech at the European Energy Award

How Does Tucker Carlson Use Personal Attacks Instead of Proof about Climate Change?

by William D. Harpine

Copyright © 2026 by William D. Harpine

Image of Marco Rubio: 

Official State Department portrait, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons