Former President Donald Trump told thousands of parishioners and supporters during a Christmas message at the Pastor Robert Jeffress-led First Baptist Dallas in Texas that America “needs a Savior right now” but that Savior isn’t him.
“More than 2,000 years ago, an angel of the Lord appeared … to humble shepherds and proclaimed the reason for our Christmas joy. For unto you is born this day in the City of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord,” Trump told a crowd of some 4,000 people packed inside the church.
“When I was listening to Robert, perhaps unknowingly, you used the word Savior a lot. And our country needs a Savior right now. And our country has a Savior, and it’s not me,” the 75-year-old Trump continued.
“That’s somebody else much higher up than me. Much higher.”
The former president’s comments come as some conservative Christian supporters believed that Trump was God’s chosen leader for America when he was elected in 2016.
Before his election, Trump presented himself as a champion for Christian conservative values and promised Evangelicals great power and higher church attendance.
Data shows, however, that the population of Christians in America today continues to shrink.
Still, in his greeting to parishioners at First Baptist Dallas on Sunday, Trump claimed he helped save Christianity during his time in office, but “very dark clouds” are now hanging over the country.
He explained how he was “a little insulted” when he first became acquainted with Jeffress through his television ministry.
“He does very well on television in spreading the word. He started talking about a man that he watched, and he’s been watching — ‘and he may not know the Bible as all of us, but he loves God, He loves Jesus, and he’s a leader. And he’s going to lead us and do great things in helping and saving Christianity,’” Trump said as he reminisced about Jeffress’ praises of him during the 2016 election. “And we’ve done a real job.”
Trump went on to lament the state of the economy with inflation running high. He criticized the manner in which U.S. troops were withdrawn from Afghanistan.
“You know, we’re in trouble now,” Trump said.
“I think our nation is in great trouble. I don’t think we’ve ever had a time like this, with what happened in Afghanistan, the way that was done so badly. And you look at the border and you look at inflation, which is going to rip our country to pieces,” he added. “There’s a lot of clouds hanging over our country right now. Very dark clouds.”
The former president took time to wish the church a “Merry Christmas” as he remembered the reason for the season. He called it his “favorite time of the year.”
“The life and death and resurrection of Jesus Christ forever changed the world,” Trump declared. “And it’s impossible to think of the life of our own country without the influence of His example and of His teachings. Our miraculous founding, overcoming civil war, abolishing slavery, defeating communism and fascism, reaching boundless heights of science and discovery, so many incredible things,” Trump said.
“None of this could have ever happened without Jesus Christ and his followers and his Church. None of it,” he said to applause. “And we have to remember that Jesus Christ is the ultimate source of our strength and of our hope and here and everywhere and for all time.”
