Story perspectives

Trump White House Prayer Festival Spurs Anti-LGBTQ, BLM Comparisons

5/15/2026

Summary

Story summary

Trump’s administration held Rededicate 250 prayer festival at the White House on May 17, 2026.
The event gave leaders a platform to legitimize exclusionary policies.
Dr. Robert Jeffress said women must submit to husbands and called LGBTQ filthy.
Paula White likened Black Lives Matter to Ku Klux Klan and said opposing Trump opposes God.
Pew Research shows 23% of Americans identify as evangelical, yet the lineup implied worshippers are citizens.

History

Historical Context

In June 1979 Jerry Falwell and Paul Weyrich launched the Moral Majority, the first organized Christian-right lobby. By the 1980 presidential campaign it mobilized roughly two-thirds of white evangelical voters, helping Ronald Reagan win and cementing a lasting alliance between evangelicals and the Republican Party. Today’s White House prayer festival featuring televangelist Paula White and pastor Robert Jeffress echoes that same strategy of merging worship with policy influence.

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Story summary

Trump’s administration held Rededicate 250 prayer festival at the White House on May 17, 2026.
The event gave leaders a platform to legitimize exclusionary policies.
Dr. Robert Jeffress said women must submit to husbands and called LGBTQ filthy.
Paula White likened Black Lives Matter to Ku Klux Klan and said opposing Trump opposes God.
Pew Research shows 23% of Americans identify as evangelical, yet the lineup implied worshippers are citizens.

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