{"id":604100,"date":"2026-05-19T11:57:53","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T11:57:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/?p=604100"},"modified":"2026-05-19T11:57:53","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T11:57:53","slug":"critics-slam-trump-backed-prayer-gathering-on-national-mall-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/?p=604100","title":{"rendered":"Critics slam Trump-backed prayer gathering on National Mall"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Trump administration held a prayer rally on the National Mall this Sunday in a move that some left-wing critics say was a major party foul.<\/p>\n

Dubbed Rededicate 250, the national jubilee of prayer was designed to pay tribute to America\u2019s 250th birthday \u201cwith Scripture, testimony, prayer, and rededication of our country as One Nation to God,\u201d according to the rally\u2019s official website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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250 years. One nation. And an incredible day of prayer, praise, and rededication.<\/p>\n

Thank you to everyone who joined us in person and in spirit. Together, we lifted up this country in prayer and gave thanks for 250 years of God\u2019s faithfulness. pic.twitter.com\/Jlhvc6xxRs<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Freedom 250 (@Freedom250) May 18, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The event attracted thousands of worshipers and featured dozens of speakers, including President Donald Trump, top Trump administration officials, and a number of pastors and other faith figures.<\/p>\n

But according to The Hill<\/a>, the event also attracted leftist critics.<\/p>\n

\u201cRededicate 250 is a betrayal of America\u2019s founding values guaranteed in the First Amendment, which made clear that there shall be no establishment of religion by the government, and that each one of us should be free to live out our beliefs in our own way,\u201d Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush of Interfaith Alliance said in a statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis event used the power of the government to elevate one thin slice of American religion above others,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was a political rally with a political agenda, rather than an event that truly celebrated the long, rich, and diverse tradition of religious expression in America,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Raushenbush is a known anti-ICE agitator<\/a>\u00a0who thinks Bible verses and religious themes are \u201cwhite Christian nationalist propaganda.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

.@intrfthalliance<\/a> President and CEO Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush reacts to an official DHS advertisement that uses bible verses and religious themes:<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a White Christian Nationalist propaganda piece\u2026 I would say it\u2019s blasphemous. \u2026This is an administration that has been\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/HoHzMkdAol<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Washington Journal (@cspanwj) February 5, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Americans United for Separation of Church and State President and CEO Rachel Laser, another rabid leftist, similarly called the prayer rally a \u201cjubilee of Christian nationalism.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf President Trump and his allies truly cared about America\u2019s legacy of religious freedom, they would be celebrating church-state separation as the unique American invention that has allowed religious diversity to flourish in our country,\u201d she said in a statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cInstead, they continue to threaten this foundational principle by advancing a Christian Nationalist crusade to impose one narrow version of Christianity on all Americans,\u201d she added. \u201cThis is a government-sponsored event on public property that combines only Christian faith leaders and government officials; it\u2019s less a \u2018Jubilee of Prayer\u2019 than a \u2018Jubilee of Christian Nationalism.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

But despite Raushenbush and Laser\u2019s kvetching, Villanova University professor Michael Moreland stressed that the Trump administration has the constitutional right to hold a prayer rally.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe people who are maybe anxious about too much of a blending of church and state think that that\u2019s not wise on the part of those people to do that, but that\u2019s more of a prudential political judgment than it is anything to do with constitutional restrictions on their ability to participate in these kinds of events,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n

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Rededicate 250 at @NationalMallNPS<\/a> offered a moment to pause in reflection, express gratitude and offer prayer as we reflect on the founding values of America and renew our commitment to the principles that continue to shape it. pic.twitter.com\/3yun2gfu9O<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Secretary Doug Burgum (@SecretaryBurgum) May 18, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Speaker Mike Johnson, one of the speakers at the prayer rally, fiercely defended it in a lengthy social media post.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs we approach the 250th birthday of our great nation, it has never been more important to defend truth on every front, repair our foundations, and hold fast to who we are and what we stand for,\u201d he wrote<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnyone who has been misled to believe that religious principles and viewpoints must be separated from public affairs should be reminded to review their history,\u201d Johnson added.<\/p>\n

He similarly spoke of American history in his prayer rally speech:<\/p>\n

\n

\"\ud83d\udea8\" AMERICA\u2019S LEADERS ARE OPENLY TALKING ABOUT FAITH AGAIN<\/p>\n

Speaker Mike Johnson joined a public prayer of rededication in Washington, marking 250 years since America\u2019s founding generation called the nation to dependence on God.<\/p>\n

His message:<\/p>\n

That America should remain \u201cOne\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/d917MKX5uw<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Jim Ferguson (@JimFergusonUK) May 18, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cIn recent years, we\u2019ve seen sinister ideologies sow confusion and discord among our people,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019ve witnessed attacks on our history, on our heroes, and the cherished moral and spiritual identity of this great nation.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThese voices insist to the young and impressionable that our story, the American story, is one of oppression and hypocrisy and failure and that this story can only be understood through the lens of our sins. Father, we reject that. We rebuke it in your name,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Trump administration held a prayer rally on the National Mall this Sunday in a move that some left-wing critics say was a major party foul. Dubbed Rededicate 250, the national jubilee of prayer was designed to pay tribute to America\u2019s 250th birthday \u201cwith Scripture, testimony, prayer, and rededication of our country as One Nation… Continue reading Critics slam Trump-backed prayer gathering on National Mall<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":604073,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[20,23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-604100","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economic-empowerment","category-national-security","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/604100","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=604100"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/604100\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/604073"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=604100"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=604100"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=604100"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}