A crowd of thousands, many in red, white and blue, transformed a block of the National Mall into an evangelical-style worship service Sunday morning at a White House-led, day-long prayer festival tied to the country’s 250th anniversary.
“We welcome Jesus into this place!” one of the first performers at “Rededicate 250: A National Jubilee of Prayer, Praise & Thanksgiving” belted from a stage with ivory-colored pillars evoking the neoclassical architecture of the capital’s federal buildings.
The event, funded with millions in public dollars, is to feature Christian clergy, music and multiple senior government officials, including President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and House Speaker Mike Johnson. Most of the scheduled speakers are politically conservative evangelical Protestants.
It’s the latest in a series of administration actions that have energized Trump’s evangelical base while sparking protest from critics who say they portray the United States inaccurately as a Christian nation and blur the line between church and state.
Organizers say they are focused on the Christian faith of many of the leaders who wrote the United States’ foundational documents. They also note that Trump recognized some of the country’s diversity by calling on Jewish Americans to observe a “national Sabbath” from sundown Friday to Saturday night, which is the traditional Jewish day of rest.
Some scholars of U.S. religious history and critics of the Trump administration say Sunday’s event whitewashes a much more complex founding story. They also note that the United States is far more diverse today that it was 250 years ago, and point out that, amid much debate, the founders chose to keep religion at arm’s length from government in the Constitution.
“The agenda for this ‘jubilee’ reads less like a traditional religious event and more like a program for the Church of Trump,” the government watchdog group Public Citizen said in a statement Friday. “This highly politicized mess is not what Congress envisioned a decade ago in passing legislation creating an official commission for the 250th anniversary.”
George Tillis IV, a 27-year-old missionary originally from Los Angeles, described the event as “a gathering for the body of Christ.” Tillis, standing with two friends on the bright green Mall grass, was one of many missionaries who arrived in several vans from Michigan.
The purpose, he said, was “to rededicate the country back to God, and every Christian should be involved.”
Officials said they expected about 15,000 people. The Mall was cordoned off from 12th Street NW about half a block toward the Capitol.
The atmosphere early Sunday was akin to that of an evangelical Protestant worship service, with mostly middle-aged or older people in casual clothes, praying with their arms outstretched to the sky as Christian broadcasters did live shots from multilevel television sets.
People described a variety of reasons for coming — to bring awareness to what they see as harassment of or disfavor toward conservative Christians, to pray for the country to repent for its sins, or to fortify what they call the Christian roots of the country — in particular against Islam or other faiths outside Christianity or Judaism.
They described their own faith as a mix of Native beliefs and “Judeo-Christianity.” While they see the government as flawed, they said, they felt it was important to come to pray for the country.
“It will be interesting to see if they name God. The fact that the god of Yahweh is being confused with the god of Allah — those are every different,” she said. “I hope the god of creation — Yahweh — is named.”
About two-thirds of the country identifies as Christian; a quarter identifies as evangelical. About 30 percent of Americans have no religious affiliation.
Rededicate is scheduled to run from 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. with the main stage at 12th Street. Entrances opened at 9 a.m., with light worship and music from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Attendance is free, but attendees had to register on the event website and go through metal detectors.
A who’s who of evangelicals long close to Trump, are scheduled to speak later Sunday. They include Franklin Graham, CEO of the humanitarian organization Samaritan’s Purse and son of evangelical icon Billy Graham; the Rev. Jonathan Falwell, son of Moral Majority and Liberty University founder Jerry Falwell; and Christian Broadcasting Network President Gordon Robertson, son of Christian media titan Pat Robertson.
Pop culture figures scheduled to appear include actress and podcaster Sadie Carroway Robertson, who appeared for years on the reality television show “Duck Dynasty,” and Jonathan Roumie, star of the television drama “The Chosen,” which is about Jesus.
A few protests are planned, including one by the Freedom From Religion Foundation — a mostly secular group focused on church-state separation — and Faithful America, a Christian group focused on opposing religious nationalism. The organizations said they would erect a 15-foot-tall balloon of “a golden calf with a Trump-like visage” a few blocks away.
Lisa Wyzkiewicz, 66, of Jeannette, Pennsylvania, planned to come to the event in a bus chartered by her church. She said that Trump is the “most Christian” president in her lifetime and that she was strongly encouraged by seeing more prayer in public life.
“The Founding Fathers made a covenant with God, and that’s why we have been such a blessed nation,” Wyzkiewicz said last month at Washington’s Museum of the Bible, which was hosting a week-long public scripture reading that featured Trump and other U.S. leaders.
In recent years, she said, she has come to see abortion and transgender rights as evidence that the nation had gone off its path. Listening to Charlie Kirk, Eric Metaxas and other public figures argue that the United States was founded as a Christian nation, she concluded that the federal government needs to be much more influenced by the faith.
“They should almost be tied together,” she said. “I love Jesus, I love my country, and I really want us to come back to God.”
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Following is a song that is very special in our home:
In recent weeks, Voter ID has become one of the hottest topics in Washington. The U.S. House of Representatives has passed multiple bills to ensure only eligible U.S. citizens vote in federal elections. President Donald Trump recently declared voter ID his #1 legislative priority. All eyes are now on the U.S. Senate to see if the Republican majority there can pass one of the House-passed bills for the president to sign into law.
Most Americans following this debate are probably wondering why there is a debate at all. Polls consistently show at least 80% of Americans — including most Democrats — support voter ID laws. That kind of bipartisan unity may be rare in American today. But it makes sense on this issue. Voter ID laws prevent fraud and ensure election integrity. In this era of collapsing public trust in our political institutions, national voter ID should be a no brainer.
We don’t want unscrupulous political campaigns stuffing ballot boxes with fake votes. And we don’t want anyone other than citizens casting ballots. What we want is to be able to trust that our elections are fair and the outcomes are legitimate.
The simplest answer to do that is to require voters to prove their citizenship when they register, and their identity when they show up to vote.
And yet, voter ID reform may die in the Senate.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is adamantly opposed to voter ID. He announced that his party will vote against the House-passed bills, and even conduct a filibuster to prevent the Senate from voting on them. Liberals like Schumer have criticized voter ID laws in extremely harsh language. They say it’s racist — “Jim Crow 2.0.” They say it’s unconstitutional. They say it’s unfairly burdensome. They say it’s designed to suppress voter turnout.
But the evidence shows all four of these objections are misguided.
First of all, of course voter ID laws are not racist. Jim Crow laws were designed to prevent minority citizens from voting. Voter ID laws are designed to protect all Americans’ votes. That’s why polls show Black and Hispanic Americans support voter ID.
Nor would a federal voter ID law be unconstitutional. It’s true — and good — that election laws are generally left to the states. But Article I of the Constitution explicitly gives Congress the power to legislate on this issue when necessary:
“The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations”.
Critics say it’s wrong to demand ID from someone exercising a constitution right. But Americans present IDs to assert their rights all the time. Starting an advocacy group or getting a permit for a demonstration (1st amendment) buying a gun (2nd Amendment), asserting property rights (5th amendment), or filing a lawsuit (7th amendment) all require an ID of some kind.
Critics’ third concern is that voter ID is cripplingly burdensome. They say it’s unreasonable to expect voters to be able to show ID at the polls. California Governor Gavin Newsom, for instance, said on a podcast recently that he has no idea where his birth certificate is and so voter ID laws could prevent him from voting.
But this is silly. Presenting ID is a part of daily life, for people of every race, creed, and income bracket. People need ID to buy beer, rent a car, cash a check, board an airplane, join a gym, go to the doctor, or pick up medicine at the pharmacy. No one is burdened by carrying around their driver’s license.
Finally, liberals say voter ID laws will suppress voter turnout. Except, we know this isn’t true. Studies have looked at the evidence for years. States that have passed voter ID have routinely seen voter turnout increase. This makes sense, since citizens are more likely to participate in a process they trust.
Critics want Americans to believe that voter ID is a strange, scary new idea cooked up by partisan politicians. In truth, it’s already the norm in the U.S. and around the world. Thirty-six states already have voter ID laws on their books. Most countries in the world do too, including Canada, Mexico, all 12 countries in South America and all 47 in Europe. The real outliers here are the 16 U.S. states that don’t require voter ID.
That’s the real problem.
Many of those states — like California, Illinois, Minnesota, and New York — have large numbers of illegal immigrants, are controlled by liberals, and have declared themselves “sanctuaries” that won’t cooperate with federal immigration enforcement agencies. Lots of non-citizens, a partisan interest in non-citizen voting, and a comfort with lawlessness look to many Americans like a recipe for voter fraud.
Over President Biden’s four years in office, eight million illegal immigrants entered the United States. That’s roughly the population of Washington State. Especially in the wake of huge fraud scandals now unfolding in liberal states — many involving illegal migrants — now is a good time to ensure only citizens vote in our elections.
Counting the votes of only those who are legally allowed to vote is not intolerant; it’s democracy. After all, if an American happened to be vacationing in France or Italy on the day of one of their elections, no one would expect them to be able to vote. Citizens alone should determine election outcomes. Legal immigrants can certainly become citizens in time, and then vote, but not before.
That’s already the law. Voter ID simply makes sure that law is obeyed. Different states — and different bills before Congress — feature slightly different rules. Some require a photo ID while others only require some proof of identity. Some require voter ID only for in-person voting, and some require it for mail-in ballots too. Given the erosion of public trust — and Americans’ universal familiarity with carrying ID — stricter rules will only help without unduly burdening anyone.
The strongest refutation of the Left’s arguments against voter ID is the lived experience in the 36 states and dozens of countries that already have it. Voters turn out in large numbers. Democrats and Republicans both win some and lose some. In every election, it’s easy to vote and hard to cheat.
Nothing can make a voting system perfect. But voter ID does make it fair.
Thank you, Dr. Carson. Your Mother would be proud.
The Daily Digest
