Donald Trump spoke at an evangelical Christian rally in Orlando last week, on the two month anniversary of the mass shooting at the LGBTQ nightclub Pulse.
The event, called “Rediscovering God In America,” was sponsored by the antigay American Renewal Project, whose stated goal is to “mobilize conservative Christian viewers and inspire right-wing pastors to run for elected office.” Marco Rubio also appeared at the event.
Related: Donald Trump Stumbles Through Explaining His Opposition To Gay Marriage
The leader of the organization, David Lane, has made repeated antigay statements, such as claiming the United States “deserves judgment” for such offenses as gay people praying at Obama’s inauguration.
Trump talked up his wins in the primaries with evangelical voters, while also looking to assure them that he is their best option between Clinton and himself. He has also tried convincing the LGBTQ community of the same, which is clearly in opposition.
“I hate to tell you, folks,” Trump said, “you got two choices. You got two choices. You’ve got two choices, and one choice, you’re not going for that choice. So I feel confident. I feel confident.”
What an endorsement of himself: I know you hate Hillary Clinton and will come crawling to me, so I’m not too worried. Boy oh boy, won’t that inspire them to run out to the polls in November!
Trump bemoaned religious leaders not being able to give endorsements out of fear of losing their tax exempt status.
“We’re gonna get your voice back. We’re gonna get it back,” he said.
Related: Twitter Slams Trump Spokeswoman For Antigay Remarks, Obama Blaming
Trump also repeated inflammatory and over the top rhetoric about Obama and Clinton being “the founders of Isis.”
“I made the statement before that Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, these are the founders of Isis. These are the founders of Isis. Because of bad judgments,” he said. “These are the founders. And some (have said), ‘Well, that’s not very nice.’ Nice? If they said it about me it’d be fine. If I say something about them it’s terrible.”
“I said they get the Most Valuable Player Award. Isis is going to prevent them with the Most Valuable Player Award, you know, like in high school,” Trump continued, calling them “bad people, with bad judgement, and at the top we have an incompetent leader.”
Shockingly, Trump didn’t mention the shooting at Pulse, nor his promise to protect LBGTQ people at this rally like he did during his speech at the RNC, which was heavy on the sky-is-falling rhetoric.
In fact, Trump did not mention the LGBTQ community at all.
Related: Trump Promises To Protect The LGBTQ Community, Twitter Reacts
He did talk up his “big heart,” however.
“I have almost as big a heart as almost anybody in this room. We have some pretty good people. I know one person in particular. I don’t know, I think he’s actually a better person than I am, but that’s okay. But he knows I can do this stuff better, meaning open it up for you folks,” he said.
He encouraged the religious leaders to get “their people” out to vote.
“If you get everybody out to vote…we will win, and you will see things happen for the evangelicals. You will see things happen that you won’t believe, and most important for religion you’re gonna see things happen. For religion. All religions,” Trump said, adding that “once I win I will do my thing that I do very well.”
“It’s probably, mainly the only way that I will get to heaven, so I better do a good job,” he said, concluding his speech.
Watch Trump’s speech below.
KentonForshee
Idiot.
mcflyer54
Pander Bear at his best. This kind of stuff tells me more about evangelicals then it tells me about Trump. These “so-called” Christians are willing to overlook the adultery of three time married Trump, a man who has cheated thousands of workers over the years, because he promises to give them back the voice they never lost in the first place. Sell your souls evangelicals – Jesus would be so ashamed to call you part of his flock. Even if Trump is elected (highly unlikely at this stage of the game) these folks aren’t going to get what they want – an all Christian nation ruled by the word of THEIR God and not by man made laws.
Juanjo
I don’t want a bunch of tax exempt sky pixie preachers telling their “flocks” that the sky pixie say vote for candidate X over all others. They want the right to do that, then they pay taxes like everyone else.
zipperzone
The man is bat-shit crazy. If enough of the so called Christian Reich vote him into the White House, they deserve exactly what they get.
robho3
Keep blabbing Trump. At this point the democrats don’t need to to do anything but let Trump keep talking his crazy….he is his own worst enemy. At this point it is funny- it’s like he really is doing everything in his power to not win– which is fine. He can take Marco with him.
Heywood Jablowme
Trump is so repetitive in the annoying way he speaks, he’s so repetitive, he’s repetitive folks, believe me he’s repetitive. Believe me!
And how DARE the liberal media quote him accurately!
GC1985
Trump is in bed with the Russians, who are more antigay than these people.
Trump keeps repeating what he says because he think he’s important.
Hillary is skyrocketing in the polls.
Minerva pomerantz
@robho3: “I hate to tell you, folks,” Trump said, “you got two choices. You got two choices. You’ve got two choices, and one choice, you’re not going for that choice. So I feel confident. I feel confident.” Well, that says it all, all over again
GC1985
@Minerva pomerantz: He is right though. We are not going for that choice… Being him lol.
I don’t think he wants to be President anymore.
Vanity Fair ran an article indicating that he wants his own TV channel… Possibly. More money in that for the conartist.
Bauhaus
@Heywood Jablowme:
Okay, okay, okay?!
Mack
“If you get everybody out to vote…we will win, and you will see things happen for the evangelicals. You will see things happen that you won’t believe, and most important for religion you’re gonna see things happen. For religion. All religions,” Trump said, adding that “once I win I will do my thing that I do very well.”
Once he gets power, he will do what Putin did in Russia. If you don’t “religion” crammed down your throats, people you really need to get up off your asses and vote for Hillary. Otherwise, what happened in Russia is going to happen here.
dinard38
Trump sounds like Jethro Bodine. Like he only has a 5th grade education.
@Juanjo: You are so correct, sir. Churches have no business telling their parishioners who to vote for. If they do, they become a political advocacy and should be taxed.
What annoys me about Christians and evangelicals is that they want to create laws based off of their religious beliefs, but have the audacity to balk at Islam and their sharia laws. Same effing thing. Christianity may be slightly less radical than these radical Islamists, but not by much.
Brian
When was the last time Hillary appeared at a gay rights meeting? There’s food for thought.
Bauhaus
@Brian:
In 1999, Hillary Clinton was the first sitting First Lady to march in a pride parade (New York). She was present at many pride events across the country during pride month this year.
OzJosh
Beware the politician who says everything twice, like he has Tourettes. In Australia, we had (very briefly) a Prime Minister (Tony Abbott) with the exact same tick. It proved to be just as we thought: an indication that he didn’t really have that much to say, was incapable of more complex thinking, and would get stuck, like a needle on a record, on the same knee-jerk responses to any situation. Like Trump, he also proved to be a dangerous moron, with psychopathic tendencies.
Kangol
@Bauhaus: I saw her speak to a crowd of LGBTQ people in NYC when she was running for her US Senate seat. She has been a strong supporter of LGBTQ rights, and yes, she marched in that 1999 Gay Pride parade and many more since then.
@OzJosh: Trump is doing that in part to psychologically hypnotize people. He’s taking trolling and propaganda to a whole new level (for the US). A psychologist pointed this out months ago, but our US media were enthralled and entranced by him, and now they seem horrified by his daily dose of craziness. They helped him to get where he is, though. Fortunately, at least for now, he is driving women voters, including Republican women, away in droves, and that very well may be his downfall.
Alistair Wiseman
@Bauhaus:
Hillary Clinton is also the first First Lady to fingerprinted and subpoenaed by the FBI in separate incidences.
Arconcyyon
FUTURE Trump Writy Passd Black Obamma ! ilgbttq is like life ! diferent is vote !
jimontp
@Brian: WHEN are you ever going to stop with your idiotic, nonsensically negative comments?
Here we have Trump telling the Evangelicals that they’ll be able to openly discriminate against gays and anyone else they want to, in Trump’s theocracy government- of course he always sounds like the stupid 8th grade bully who failed at English and logic. Your bright question was “when did Hillary appear at a gay rights meeting?” When the hell did she ever appear with a huge virulently anti-gay crowd? Trump just did. Stick to the reality.
zipperzone
Does anybody else think he looks like a butch lesbian in drag?
dwes09
@Alistair Wiseman: “Hillary Clinton is also the first First Lady to fingerprinted and subpoenaed by the FBI in separate incidences.”
Can you do anything other than deflect and change the subject. Has Clinton been arrested? No. Has Clinton been charged? No. Are allegations indications of guilt in this country? No. Trump speaks at rallies for people who are dead set on seeing us criminalized. And he loudly claims to support their agenda. Hillary does not. So we have your imagination and talking points (which are arguably lies) to weigh against the reality of both candidates’ words and actions. Except for the insane or stupid, reality wins.
Louis
God I wish this jackass just had a muzzle along with the rest of the equal extremist lunatics like Trump in this country.
So sick of these people ugh.
Stilinski26
So he did’nt mention lgbt at all so why is this news news worthy?
RIGay
@Stilinski26: My thoughts, exactly. There is no “There”, there. The guy is just a sputtering moron.
DCguy
@Alistair Wiseman:
And once again List air can never say anything good or provide any reasons why he is supporting Trump. He sees his only job as trying to change the topic.
GayEGO
Well is this Trump being sarcastic or not? I guess if he gets too much opposition he will claim he was just being sarcastic, about everything. So what does Trump say that we can believe? Only that “It is I and I alone” blah blah blah. Trump is for Trump, now that I can believe. Oh……I was just being sarcastic! :>)