Trump’s Unprecedented Holy Week Message Was One for the Ages

When President Trump’s Presidential Message on Holy Week popped up on my phone a couple of days ago, I kept checking to see if it was legit. The wording was so blatantly “Christian,” so charismatic in its call for an “outpouring of the Holy Spirit” – I thought it might be some kind of spoofed website aimed at mocking the president’s Christian supporters.

Upon realizing it was real; I texted my friends: “This is unprecedented! I’ve never seen anything like it!”  One replied, “Yes! Unprecedented! Good word!” Another said, “What an awesome message. It feels incredible that being openly Christian is okay again.” And a pastor wrote back, “Beautiful. And let’s believe it’s a sign of good things to come!”

We weren’t alone. Reverend Franklin Graham confirmed the message as “historic” when speaking with CBN News saying, “I think this proclamation is historic and there has not been, in my lifetime, a president that has communicated the gospel as clearly as he has. He’s not a preacher but [in] this proclamation he gave one of the best sermons that many pastors will give from the pulpit.” He added, “Donald Trump is not afraid of his faith. He’s not ashamed of his faith, and he’s willing to let the world know it.”

On his social media accounts, Rev. Graham added, “What a contrast to Easter last year at the White House when President Biden declared the most holy day of the year on the Christian calendar “Transgender Day of Visibility.”

In his column at The Federalist, Logan Washburn contrasted Trump’s Holy Week message with King Charles III in the U.K., saying “the head of the Church of England, and “defender of the faith – apparently failed to even issue a statement for Holy Week or Palm Sunday.” Instead, he noted that both the Royal Family and Prime Minister Starmer honored the Sikh holiday Vaisakhi and the birth of Sikhism on April 14.

Evangelical pastor Greg Laurie, senior pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship, wrote on X, ““In a time when truth is blurred, what a contrast to see the resurrection of Christ honored — especially after last year’s Easter was marked by ‘Transgender Day of Visibility.’ Pray that we honor God and point people to Christ.” Laurie will be joining Rev. Franklin Graham and Pastor Jentezen Franklin for a special worship service at the White House on Holy Thursday. The service was reportedly organized by the new White House Faith Office.

(It’s interesting to note that Jentezen Franklin is author of a new book, “Why Bless Israel,” and his ministry is currently collaborating with the Jewish National Fund on projects such as a state-of-the-art medical emergency center in the Upper Galilee, near the borders with Lebanon and Syria.)

Charisma News reported, “President Trump’s holy week statement is taking the world by storm” and The Catholic News Agency declared, “Trump issues Holy Week messages: ‘He is risen!’”

The latter is a reference to the president’s Truth Social post which was separate from his official Holy Week Message. In the post, he spoke of the “pain and sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross,” adding that “America is a Nation of Believers. We need God, we want God and, with His help, we will make our Nation Stronger, Safer, Greater, more Prosperous, and more United than ever before.”

Predictably, the Freedom From Religion Foundation criticized both posts, saying they reflected “the White House’s desire to institutionalize Christian nationalism.” They further lamented that “The overt iteration of extreme Christian dogma in a presidential message directed only to the 62 percent of Americans who are at least nominally Christian (few of whom attend church even a few times a year) signals fealty to Trump’s white evangelical Christian base.”

This hilariously brings to mind Whoopi Goldbergs’ recent characterization of how the Trump administration only represents a “narrow band of people” – despite winning every swing state, the popular vote, and the electoral college:

“When they say America, they’re not talking about us. They are talking about that very narrow band of America that they think they represent.”

This Easter, I’m guessing that a very large narrow band of American Christians are enthusiastically applauding a president who openly acknowledges Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection, reflecting the majority faith of the nation.

Originally published at American Thinker

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2025/04/trump_s_historic_holy_week_message_ignites_christian_praise_secular_backlash.html