Donald Trump: Defender of Christendom?

by Raymond Ibrahim, New American Prophet, ©2025

(May 3, 2025) — Is Donald Trump on his way to becoming the world’s chief Defender of Christianity? That’s what various media have been reporting; one Fox News headline asserts that Trump is “Vowing to ‘Defend the Christian Faith.’”

These claims trace back to a White House statement released on Palm Sunday (April 13) wherein Donald Trump spoke of Jesus Christ and Easter, or Resurrection, Sunday in terms that would edify the most faithful of Christians.  A few snippets from Trump’s statement follow:

This Holy Week, Melania and I join in prayer with Christians celebrating the crucifixion and resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ—the living Son of God who conquered death, freed us from sin, and unlocked the gates of Heaven for all of humanity….

This week is a time of reflection for Christians to memorialize Jesus’ crucifixion—and to prepare their hearts, minds, and souls for His miraculous Resurrection from the dead.

… In His final hours on Earth, Christ willingly endured excruciating pain, torture, and execution on the cross out of a deep and abiding love for all His creation.  Through His suffering, we have redemption.  Through His death, we are forgiven of our sins.  Through His Resurrection, we have hope of eternal life.  On Easter morning, the stone is rolled away, the tomb is empty, and light prevails over darkness—signaling that death does not have the final word.

Wow; whoever thought you’d hear an American president speak like that? As Evangelist Franklin Graham observed,

[Trump’s] 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 for Easter that many pastors will give from the pulpit. 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.

For those familiar with the perfunctory proclamations of previous administrations, it’s hard to deny Graham’s logic.

As for Trump’s vow to “defend” Christianity, here is the relevant excerpt from the president’s Palm Sunday proclamation:

This Holy Week, my Administration renews its promise to defend the Christian faith in our schools, military, workplaces, hospitals, and halls of government. We will never waver in safeguarding the right to religious liberty, upholding the dignity of life, and protecting God in our public square.

Interesting; but does all this make Trump a bona fide defender of Christianity—a Defensor Fidei (Defender of the Faith), an Athleta Christi (Champion of Christ), or even a Miles Christi (Soldier of Christ)—all epithets used to describe the great heroes of Christian history?

As the author of a book called Defenders of the West: The Christian Heroes Who Stood Against Islam—and as someone who has closely researched the historic defense of Christianity—I am, I think, rather qualified to answer this question.

A great many of the defenders I have read and wrote about were, like Trump, leaders of men—counts, kings, and even emperors. However, unlike Trump, these men were also warriors, whose defense of Christendom usually culminated with their taking to the field of battle, and often being at the very center of the fray. Many of them died fighting for the faith.

While this may suggest that Trump is not a defender of Christianity, we still have not accounted for context—for time and place. The Defenders I write of lived in a time when battle was necessary; when the enemy, in this case Muslims, were always at the gate and in need of being repulsed, sword in hand.

Our times are obviously different. Sure, Muslims are still terrorizing Europeans, but that’s not because they are invading Europe, but rather because Europe’s ruling elite are allowing them in and enabling them against the native, once Christian, population—which is a whole other bizarre topic with no historic precedent.

Read the rest here.