President Donald Trump‘s remarks at the National Prayer Breakfast Thursday morning are inciting social media. Just hours after the Senate acquitted him on two articles of impeachment, the president attended the annual event, slamming Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Sen. Mitt Romney in a scathing speech. Trump did not, however, directly name his political rivals, though his words are still causing controversy online.
Dear @realDonaldTrump: Your remarks at the National Prayer Breakfast were petty, small and godless. I will pray for you. https://t.co/V31SDsrxtA
— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) February 6, 2020
Taking the stage after Arthur Brooks encouraged those in attendance to “love your enemies” and set aside “contempt” for others, Trump said that, “I don’t know if I agree with you” before jumping into his scathing speech.
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Beginning his speech by stating that “my family, our great country, and your president have been put through a terrible ordeal by some very dishonest and corrupt people” who have “done everything possible to destroy us and by so doing, very badly hurt our nation,” the president went on to target Pelosi and Romney, who became the only Republican to cross party lines when he voted to convict Trump on Article I.
“I don’t like people who use their faith as justification for doing what they know is wrong. Nor do I like people who say, ‘I pray for you,’ when they know that that’s not so,” he said.
Just minutes later, social media lit up with backlash, many slamming the president for using the annual event, meant to allow those gathered to pray and reflect on their faith, as a means to attack his political rivals and speak out about the impeachment trial.
“Good grief,” wrote one person. “President Trump uses the National Prayer Breakfast to denounce Democrats as ‘corrupt people.’ I suspect God is rolling her eyes.”
“My favorite Bible story is probably the one where Jesus shows up at the National Prayer Breakfast and gives a disjointed and rambling speech about how amazing he is and how he’s going to wreak revenge on all his enemies,” commented another.
“Please forgive Donald for his petty petulance,” wrote someone else. “The National Prayer Breakfast is rather trying on Donald: having to spend all that time pretending to worship anyone not himself.”
The president is scheduled to give a speech Thursday at noon addressing his acquittal. The president had been impeached on two articles – Article I, abuse of power, and Article II, obstruction of Congress – though the Senate, in a final vote on Wednesday, acquitted him of both charges.
