Now That Trump Is President, He Can Remind America That Christ Is King

It is easy to overlook, but attentive visitors to George and Martha Washington’s tomb at Mount Vernon will notice a small stone above their graves, etched with these words from John 11: “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.”

Though subtle, this piece of history reminds us of the distinct importance that America’s Founding Fathers placed on Christianity, particularly our Lord’s passion and resurrection. As Christians around the country reflect on that same story this Easter, we should resolve to transform our gratitude—for the political freedoms that our Founding Fathers fought for and the spiritual freedom that Christ died for—into action. Specifically, we should call on our political leaders to use the tools of statecraft at their disposal to support and defend Christian communities around the world that are facing persecution.

Under both Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden—so, for 12 of the last 16 years—the U.S. government consistently and aggressively prioritized advancing LGBTQ ideology and other progressive social issues ahead of religious freedom. The results have been disastrous.

At home, the Biden administration weaponized government against Christians. In 2022, the administration infamously sent a SWAT team of roughly 25 people to the home of Mark Houck, a Catholic father of seven, because he was falsely accused of violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances, or FACE, Act, which Democrats routinely use to target pro-lifers. In 2023, whistleblower Kyle Seraphin exposed Biden’s FBI for targeting traditional Catholics as “domestic terrorists.” And finally, we can’t forget that in 2024, the Biden administration chose to declare March 21, Easter Sunday, as a “Transgender Day of Visibility.”

Abroad, without the U.S. leading efforts to defend minority Christian communities and Christian civil rights around the world, persecutions got worse. Last year alone, Open Doors reports that almost 4,500 Christians were murdered for their faith, more than 7,600 churches and Christian properties were attacked, and more than 200,000 Christians were forced to flee their homes or go into hiding because of their faith.

This is an ongoing problem. In February, militants rounded up 70 Christians in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, took them to a church, and beheaded them. In March, Islamic terrorists in Syria slaughtered more than 800 people in their homes because they were Christian. Earlier this month, Democrats in Colorado passed a bill that could discriminate against Christian parents in custody disputes who “misgender” or “deadname” a child. And just last week, a Christian schoolteacher in Ireland, Enoch Burke, saw his bank account seized in a saga that has seen him spend more than 500 days in jail simply for refusing to the comply with the speech codes of radical gender ideology.

Over the next four years, President Donald Trump has the opportunity put a stop to this madness; help return Christianity to its proper pride of place in our politics, both internationally and domestically; and pave the way for a national celebration of the 2000th anniversary of the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in 2033.

Doing so doesn’t require sending billions of taxpayer dollars abroad, putting boots on the ground in conflict zones, or allowing millions of unvetted refugees into the American interior, but it does require the president to unapologetically champion Christianity and use the numerous tools of statecraft and diplomacy that are at his disposal to support Christians.

All reform must start at home. Trump is off to a good start. He already pardoned the 23 pro-lifers that Biden arrested for violating the FACE Act—and his executive order establishing a task force to eradicate anti-Christian bias will prove a tremendous help to faithful believers all across the country.

Now, he should go a step further and use the bully pulpit to lobby congressional Republicans to support Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Rep. Chip Roy’s, R-Texas, bill to repeal the FACE Act. He should also order his Department of Justice to take swift action against states like Colorado that are rapidly taking away the rights of Christian parents to raise their kids according to the values of their faith.

Abroad, there’s also room to up the ante. Now that Trump has nominated pastor and former U.S. Rep. Mark Walker as ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom, the Senate should work to confirm him as soon as possible. Meanwhile, Trump should work with Secretary of State Marco Rubio to create a new special envoy to monitor and combat anti-Christian sentiment and persecution, similar to the special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism.

Finally, the administration should impose serious penalties—such as blocking loans, initiating export restrictions, and withholding U.S. aid—for countries that persecute Christians, as well as imposing asset freezes and visa bans for individuals or nonstate entities that do the same.

Finally, all these policy reforms must be paired with a great cultural awakening. Under the Biden and Obama regimes, the United States devolved into a global defender of “LGBT freedoms.” Under Trump, the United States must become known as a champion of religious freedom, especially for Christians.

With the 2,000th anniversary of Christ’s resurrection just eight years away, Trump can lead the charge by announcing plans for huge national celebrations in spring 2033. The Heritage Foundation and the Center for Baptist Leadership would be excited to work with him in making this possible.

None of this should be controversial. America is a Christian nation. We recognize Christian holidays, and we have a moral duty to defend Christian people and traditions.

Religious freedom is the first freedom protected in America’s Bill of Rights, and the concept of religious freedom is rooted in deeper Christian conceptions about human dignity and free will. Almost every founder was a practicing Christian of some sort. And the founding generation read the King James Bible far more than they did Locke, Montesquieu, or even Cicero.

In other words, without Christianity, America would not have come into existence 250 years ago. And if we want to restore our country’s greatness for the next 250 years, we must start by recognizing and celebrating our Savior’s glorious triumph over sin and death.

Some might say that this is an impossible task in our increasingly secular age. Easter tells another story: “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.”