Mary
DeMuth

Scot
McKnight

Screenshot 2023-01-13 at 1.50.18 PM

Naghmeh
Panahi

‘Saved By God’: Trump Invokes The Almighty and Faith On Inauguration Day

By Clemente Lisi
trump inauguration
Donald Trump is sworn in as the 47th US President in the US Capitol Rotunda in Washington, DC, on January 20, 2025. (Photo by Saul Loeb/Pool/AFP via AP)

Donald Trump was sworn in on Monday as the 47th president of the United States, part of a series of events highlighted by God and faith.  

“I was saved by God to make American great again,” Trump said in his inaugural speech, alluding to the failed assassination attempt against him last July during a Pennsylvania rally.

Trump said the election gave him “a mandate to completely and totally reverse a horrible betrayal … and to give the people back their faith, their wealth, their democracy and indeed their freedom. From this moment on, America’s decline is over.”

The inauguration also marked the third time a president has been sworn in on the federal holiday honoring the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama also were sworn in for their second terms on MLK Day.

“We will make his dream come true,” Trump said of King’s legacy.

Your tax-deductible gift helps our journalists report the truth and hold Christian leaders and organizations accountable. Give a gift of $50 or more to The Roys Report this month, and you can elect to receive a copy of “Safe Church: How to Guard Against Sexism and Abuse in Christian Communities’ by Dr. Andrew Bauman, click here.

The holiday is observed on the third Monday of January every year. The U.S. Constitution places Inauguration Day on Jan. 20. 

Service at St. John’s Church

The day started with Donald Trump and his wife Melania arriving at St. John’s Episcopal Church — known as the “Church of the Presidents” — for a closed-door service ahead of the inauguration, taking part in a long presidential tradition.

The pair were greeted by the Rev. Robert W. Fisher outside the church before heading inside. The Trumps were joined at the service by Vice President JD Vance and his wife, Usha.

Elon Musk and several of Trump’s Cabinet picks also sat in the pews at the historic church on Lafayette Square.

Among other guests in attendance were Secretary of State-designate Marco Rubio, Argentina President Javier Milei and the president’s daughter Ivanka Trump. The crowd also featured several Silicon Valley tech titans, including Meta CEO Mark Zuckerburg, Apple CEO Tim Cook and Amazon’s Jeff Bezos. 

The short service, roughly an hour in length, was kept private and not televised.

Fisher, rector at St. John’s Church, gave WTOP, a Washington, D.C.-based radio station, a glimpse of what would take place inside: “This service is intentionally different from what the rest of the day is going to be. What we offer is a time that’s actually a meditative time, a reflective time. It’ll be just the people in the room, having a time where they can breathe. One of my goals and hopes for a service like this is for us to provide a space so that people can be brought in touch with, as [President Abraham] Lincoln said, the better angels of their nature.” 

The Trump family held hands as they filed out of the historic house of worship and the president nodded and smiled at churchgoers as he exited the sanctuary.

The church itself is a major part of presidential history. Consecrated on December 26, 1816, the church got a portico and bell tower six years later containing a bell cast by the son of the famous U.S. war hero Paul Revere.

James Madison, the nation’s fourth president, was the first US president to worship at the St John’s Episcopal Church. The church invited Madison, who was at the time president, a free pew (now known as No. 54). The church would rent out its pews to parishioners. In response, Madison insisted on paying the annual rent out of his own pocket.

The church — designated a National Historic Landmark in 1960 — became embroiled in controversy in June 2020 after police tear-gassed protesters in Lafayette Square after Trump wanted to walk to the church from the White House. Afterwards, Trump stopped outside the church and held up a Bible upside down and proclaimed that America was “the greatest country in the world.”

Trump made a triumphant return this week after defeating Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2020 presidential election.

Bibles and the swearing in ceremony

The day culminated with the inauguration ceremony — Trump’s second after he was elected president in 2016. The event, typically held outdoors, was moved inside to the Capitol Rotunda, which seats just 600 people, due to the freezing temperatures.

The ceremony’s invocation was delivered by New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan and the Rev. Franklin Graham of Samaritan’s Purse and The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.

The benediction was delivered by a trio of interfaith clergyman: Yeshiva University’s President Rabbi Dr. Ari Berman, Pastor Lorenzo Sewell and Father Frank Mann, a Catholic priest from Brooklyn, N.Y. 

As for the swearing-in itself, Trump used his own Bible, which was given to him by his mother, and the Lincoln Bible for the ceremony.

The Lincoln Bible was provided during Lincoln’s 1861 inauguration by William Thomas Carroll, then-clerk of the Supreme Court. At the time, Lincoln’s family Bible was still packed and on its way to Washington from Illinois, along with their other belongings.

In 2017, during his first inauguration, Trump placed a family Bible atop Lincoln’s while taking the oath. He did the same on Monday. Photos of the ceremony, however, showed Trump with his hand at his side, not atop the Bible.

The crowd erupted in applause following Trump was sworn in as the “Battle Hymn of the Republic” rang out. 

In an opinion piece posted to MSNBC.com, Anthea Butler, a professor of religious studies and Africana studies at the University of Pennsylvania, wrote: “For MAGA clergy and religious figures standing with Trump, his inauguration will be the culmination of their earnest prayers, rallies and political participation after their appeals to Christian nationalism, faith and fear. But they may get more than they bargained for.”

franklin graham trump
The Rev. Franklin Graham speaks during the inauguration of President Donald Trump in the US Capitol Rotunda in Washington, DC, on January 20, 2025. (Video screengrab)

Meanwhile, the Rev. Al Sharpton and other Black leaders led a congregation in a passionate MLK Day rally in the capitol as Trump was being sworn in.

“We want people to see the tale of two cities in one,” Sharpton said.

This story was originally published by Religion Unplugged.

Clemente Lisi is the executive editor of Religion Unplugged. He previously served as deputy head of news at the New York Daily News and a longtime reporter at The New York Post.

SHARE THIS:

GET EMAIL UPDATES!

Keep in touch with Julie and get updates in your inbox!

Don’t worry we won’t spam you.

More to explore
discussion

16 Responses

  1. It felt like a long wait, but was wonderful to see President Trump sworn in for his second term. God bless America!

  2. Sure is interesting how everyone named in the article has a title or salutation except the president of the United States.
    kind of clear the attitude here.just saying..

    1. Revelation 13:3 CSB
      One of its heads appeared to be fatally wounded, but its fatal wound was healed. The whole earth was amazed and followed the beast.

      President Trump did NOT appear to be fatally wounded and was not healed.

  3. What a travesty. A lifetime of trying to understand my own father’s eventual acquiesence to vote for an immoral liar and money-loving narcissist now makes sense. It was all about the power. That little John Birch Society volume I asked him about in the 1960’s, his admiration for Nixon, was just the beginning. It ended with him saying (with a chuckle) after his vote in 2016, “Well, might have messed the world up for ten years–we’ll see.” Dad is dead, so is his hero Pat Robertson, and many other ‘spiritual leaders’ who bought into Christian Nationalism. Now it is we who will have to bear the consequences. A convicted felon pardoning convicted felons is just the start.

    1. A result due in part because US citizens now have minimal political and civic options. Just like neighbourhood food deserts.
      Those who watched less TV over the years saw this coming and in particular observed that big money and self-interest groups took up residence with both political parties. 🤔
      Thankfully, the gospel, as evident in the identity, life and teaching of Christ, is above all this. That said, pray for and support men and women who endeavour to serve their communities and nation with integrity.

  4. So, the madman is back at the helm.
    Now, with New and Improved “I’m God’s chosen” rhetoric…
    May the Lord be merciful to those of us that never wanted this guy…
    And also, to those who did.

  5. Ted Bundy, the Golden State Killer, Jeffrey Dahmer, all escaped suspicion or capture only to go on committing even more heinous acts.

    Why, oh why, did God spare them when their evil could have been stopped?

    Who can, or would, dare claim God appointed them to save anything other than souls for His Kingdom?

    Does God “pay” for such an appointment with wealth for the “savior’s” family and friends?

    Jezebel ruled with bullying and buster, and it looked like she was winning. Even Elijah felt alone, discouraged, and defeated.

    When she was eaten by dogs, it was a reminder that God IS a God of justice – on His terms, and in His time.

  6. Dear Lord:

    “Thank you for President Donald J. Trump. May his presidency give you glory every day – both with justice and compassion … in the US and throughout your world. Amen.”

  7. I believe that VP Harris was defeated in the 2024 election, not 2020.

    Why are we doing all this pretending? Is it in hope that this is not actually one of the cataclysmic events in the history of the country? This article reminds me of the small-town weekly Western Star of Coldwater, KS, where the visits and entertainments of the townsfolk w.ere described: “Larry and Jean Smith visited cousins in Wichita for four days last week,” along with their outings and what they wore.

    The churches no longer read the prophets except as a means to personal piety, while the blood of the downtrodden cries out from the ground. What is unfolding is no small thing. The oligarchs are going to take everything (they have no country allegiance) and then it will fall. Pray as you like, it will be as useful as those thoughts and prayers inevitably following mass shootings.

  8. Anyone remember how the Tale of Two Cities turned out? Why did that happen, I wonder? What was the reason that the streets of Paris ran with blood?

    Those who forget history are doomed to… never mind.

  9. The depth of depravity and deception needed to support Trump is stunning. It’s proof that the American evangelical church is worthless and does not tell the truth about anything.

Leave a Reply

The Roys Report seeks to foster thoughtful and respectful dialogue. Toward that end, the site requires that people register before they begin commenting. This means no anonymous comments will be allowed. Also, any comments with profanity, name-calling, and/or a nasty tone will be deleted.
 
MOST RECENT Articles
MOST popular articles
en_USEnglish

Donate

Hi. We see this is the third article this month you’ve found worth reading. Great! Would you consider making a tax-deductible donation to help our journalists continue to report the truth and restore the church?

Your tax-deductible gift helps our journalists report the truth and hold Christian leaders and organizations accountable. Give a gift of $50 or more to The Roys Report this month, and you can elect to receive a copy of “Safe Church: How to Guard Against Sexism and Abuse in Christian Communities’ by Dr. Andrew Bauman.