Trump has long sought to appeal to conservative, evangelical Christian voters, a key group within the Republican Party’s coalition. Throughout his presidency, Trump sought to deliver wins to evangelicals, including nominating Supreme Court justices who were willing to overturn Roe v. Wade, delivering on a longtime promise to those voters while stripping away reproductive rights for millions of women across the country.
While speaking at Freedom Fest—an event held in Morningview, Kentucky, that featured several conservative speakers including Donald Trump Jr., Candace Owens, and Kimberly Gilfoyle—Eric praised his father for standing up for “religious liberty.”
“In fighting for religious liberty, there’s no one that’s done more for Christianity than Donald Trump. No one,” he said.
A video of the remarks was posted to Twitter by attorney Rob Filipkowski, who monitors controversial statements from conservatives, and had been viewed more than 300,000 times as of Sunday evening.
His remarks faced criticism from some on Twitter, including several people who pointed out that many influential figures throughout history have been credited with doing more for Christianity than the former president.
Representative Adam Kinzinger, an Illinois Republican who emerged as a vocal Trump critic after the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot. He was one of 10 Republicans who voted to impeach the ex-president and now sits on the congressional committee investigating Trump’s election fraud claims.
“Jesus?” he wrote. “Billy Graham?”
Jesse Ferguson, a Democratic strategist who served as Hillary Clinton’s deputy press secretary during her 2016 presidential campaign, wrote: “12 apostles have entered the chat.”
Daniel Gullotta, a historian who studies religion in the United States, wrote that Trump’s comments prove “the case for religious studies.”
The Trumps have long spoken publicly about their Christianity, but have faced criticism for remarks on religion at times.
In February, Eric said that his ideal dinner guest would be Jesus Christ and that he would ask him if he ever envisioned “a person as incompetent as Joe Biden running the United States of America?” and questions about the difference between Democrats and Republicans.
Some Christians condemned comments from his brother, Donald Trump, Jr., last December, who said during a Turning Point USA conference: “We’ve turned the other cheek and I understand sort of the biblical reference, I understand the mentality. But it’s gotten us nothing. OK?”
Peter Wehner, who served in several Republican administrations, condemned his comments, accusing Trump Jr. of portraying “the scriptures are essentially a manual for suckers.”
Newsweek reached out to Trump’s office for comment.
