WASHINGTON — President Trump announced Thursday that a massive prayer event will be held on the National Mall this coming May — declaring it is time “to rededicate America as one nation under God,” as the nation celebrates its 250th birthday this year.
Trump revealed the event during remarks at the National Prayer Breakfast at the Washington Hilton, where he also doubled down on his commitment to religious liberty in the US.
“This morning, I’m pleased to announce that on May 17, 2026, that we’re inviting Americans from all across the country to come together on our National Mall, to pray, to give thanks, to rededicate America as one nation under God,” the president said.
Trump did not specify why May 17 was selected, however, shortly before the Declaration of Independence, the colonial Congress had declared May 17, 1776, a national day of fasting and prayer.
May 17 also comes a few days after multiple Christian denominations celebrate the Feast of the Ascension of Jesus Christ.
Trump also revealed that the Department of Education will be taking steps to protect prayer in public schools.
“I’m also pleased to announce that the Department of Education is officially issuing its new guidance to protect the right to prayer in our public schools,” Trump said. “That’s a big deal.”
“Now the Democrats will sue us, but we’ll win.”
The Supreme Court ruled in 1962 that school-sponsored, mandatory prayer in public schools violates the First Amendment.
“This is a beautiful American tradition, and it’s a true honor to be back,” Trump remarked about the National Prayer Breakfast.
“I think I’ve been here just about every time. It’s hard to turn it down. I don’t have the courage to turn it down,” he continued.
“The last time I came, I got in [to DC] at 4 in the morning. They said, ‘Sir, you’re going to be speaking at 7,’” he added. “I said, ‘I’ll be there. I’m afraid not to be. I need all the help I can get.’”
At another point, the president predicted that he’d make it to heaven while scolding the media for misunderstanding his prior joke last year about not making the cut.
“I really think I probably should make it,” he said. “I mean, I’m not a perfect candidate, but I did a hell of a lot of good.”
Trump also riffed about his foreign policy pursuits, war, the Democrats, and defended his cabinet officials during his wide-ranging address.
“They always like to say, ‘Trump is a dictator.’ They love that. I’m not a dictator. But they were like dictators. They were like the Gestapo,” Trump chided.
“They were arresting people for going to church, and they were arresting people and treating people horribly,” he went on. “I made a lot of amends to those people.”
Trump repeatedly crowed about some of the successful military operations he approved, such as the Jan. 3 raid to capture Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro and the Christmas Day bombing of ISIS in Nigeria.
“I specifically told Pete [Hegseth], I said hit them on Christmas Day, not earlier and not later,” the president recounted at the religious event. “And man did he hit them.”
He also defended his cabinet, boasting that “we have an unbelievable bench” in his administration.
Trump scoffed at the questions he’s gotten from reporters about firing Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, pointing to her track record on border security and crime.
The president gave shoutouts to Attorney General Pam Bondi and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, defending her involvement in the raid on an election center in Fulton County, Ga. last week.
