Instead he ended by saying, “I love this country. 9, his acceptance speech also didn’t mention God. When Trump won the election in the middle of the night on Nov. So beautiful.” Trump ended simply with “I love you all. In New Hampshire, he was overcome with emotion and said, “Oh, wow! Wow, wow, wow! So beautiful. He did not, however, thank God when he won the New Hampshire primary in February or the election in November. He did say “God bless you and good night” at the end of his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention on July 22. ![]() Trump ended his Inaugural Address by saying, “God bless you and God bless America,” but this was a departure from a pattern he displayed during the campaign. Barack Obama continued the trend in 2009 and, in his 2013 address, acted as a kind of pastor to the people when he spoke of “our creed.” Trump has not, until now, really done that. Bush, who was not shy about his born-again evangelical faith, sought to heal the nation’s wounds in his 2001 address after another very divisive election. It has become almost obligatory since Reagan (1981) to end every Inaugural Address (and State of the Union address now too) with some combination of “God bless you” and “God bless America” - a move from asking for, appealing to, or seeking divine guidance to asking God to bless the people and country. The earliest American Presidents were very careful when employing religious language in Inaugural Addresses, but explicitly religious language increased in presidential Inaugural Addresses beginning in the second half of the 20th century. Robert Jeffress, a Dallas pastor who calls Islam evil. Instead, there was talk of defending America’s borders and a very stern warning to “radical Islamic terrorism, which we will eradicate completely from the face of the earth.” It is worth noting that, earlier in the morning, Trump and his family attended a private Inaugural prayer ceremony led by the Rev. as guided by divine providence when he spoke of “righteous people and a righteous public” and that America “will be protected by God.”Īddressing division and intolerance in the country that his own statements fostered prior to the Inauguration, Trump said “there is no room for prejudice” and quoted Psalm 133 when he said, “The Bible tells us how good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity.” He sounded another note of inclusion when he said “whether we are black or brown or white, we all bleed the same red blood of patriots” and, later, when he said we “are infused with the breath of life by the same Almighty Creator.” Yet, unlike his two immediate predecessors, there was no mention of basic American principles of religious freedom, liberty or democracy, and no reference to America’s history of immigration and religious diversity. He followed a tradition of regarding the U.S. The top two words mentioned were America (18 times) or American (11 times) and people (10 times). His address demonstrated not so much a belief in God as in America and the people. Trump’s Inaugural Address does not stand out among others as one that was especially religious, though it was sandwiched between three religious leaders before and after. ![]() Yet, to many observers, that’s all it was: a show in which Trump seemed to be overcompensating because he has shown little depth of faith before. Finally, country music artist Lee Greenwood performed the popular, patriotic song “God Bless the USA.” Six religious leaders, including four Protestant preachers, a Cardinal, and a rabbi attended to offer prayers - more than any other President before him. He took the oath of office on the Lincoln Bible (also used by President Obama at both of his Inaugurations) and the Bible he received as a child when he completed Sunday Church Primary School. Given Donald Trump’s previous speeches and background, one might have expected that God would be absent from his Inaugural weekend instead, it was the opposite and he put on quite a religious show in his speech and in prayer services Friday and Saturday.
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