Thousands Flock to National Mall to Pray for Donald Trump

Over the weekend, thousands flocked to the National Mall in Washington, D.C., to pray for President Donald Trump. According to News Nation, conservative evangelical leader Rev. Franklin Graham organized a march that extended from the Lincoln Memorial to the U.S. Capitol and featured a speech from Vice President Mike Pence. The outlet also noted that many of those attending appeared to be from Liberty University in Virginia, where Jerry Falwell Jr. — a fellow conservative evangelical — was president until recently.

News Nation noted that the march came ahead of Trump announcing Judge Amy Coney Barrett as his nomination for the Supreme Court seat left vacant after the death of American icon Ruth Bader Ginsberg. Per NPR, Barrett is a devout Catholic who is staunchly pro-life and anti-gay-marriage. Many believe that her very potential presence on the nation’s highest court could mean the chances of Roe v. Wade being overturned are very significantly increased. The same may be able to be said for marriage equality, as well. If confirmed, she will make the conservative voices on the court six, to a liberal three.

The march also came ahead of The New York Times reporting that is had obtained dated from Trump’s past tax returns which he has refused to reveal. In 2016, he became the first presidential nominee to not release their tax returns since 1976. Per the tax documents, that same year Trump only paid $750 in income tax, and then during his first year in the White House — 2017 — he paid the same amount.

Trump reportedly did not pay income tax in 10 of the previous 15 years due to reporting that he lost more money than he made. The tax records also revealed that Trump is battling the IRS over a $72.9 million tax refund that he claimed, despite the huge losses he reported. Trump has since claimed that the NYT report is “Fake News” and that he “paid many millions of dollars in taxes.”

He also claimed that he “was entitled, like everyone else, to depreciation & tax credits.” Trump added, “Also, if you look at the extraordinary assets owned by me, which the Fake News hasn’t, I am extremely under leveraged – I have very little debt compared to the value of assets.” He has not provided documentation to back his claims.