Trump praises stricter US abortion laws as pursuit of 'sanctity of life' in rambling speech to evangelicals

Chants of 'four more years' broke out a number of times during the speech

(Getty Images)

Donald Trump praised stricter abortion laws in a rambling speech to evangelicals, telling them that their success under his leadership is “so fragile”.

The president’s comments came as he headlined the opening ceremony of the Faith and Freedom Coalition’s annual conference on Wednesday, his sixth time speaking to the group, and second time while in office. In the speech, he listed his accomplishments on evangelical concerns to the crowd of nearly 2,000 Christians, including his administration’s support of the Republican-led sweep of strict abortion laws, which he praised as the pursuit of “sanctity of life.”

The crowd responded with chants of “four more years,” but President Trump seized the opportunity to offer caution.

“We’ve done things that are so good, and so righteous, and also so fragile,” he said to the crowd. “The wrong person in office, in this office right here, can change it very quickly.”

The president, who began the June speech by telling the crowd “they’re saying Merry Christmas again,” also repeated a number of lies he’s been consistently spreading, including that Democrats support abortion “right up until the moment of birth,” and the idea that he is not responsible for family separation happening under his administration.

He also told supporters that the “assault” religious people were under “ended the day I took the Oval Office,” and commented on the ways that Hillary Clinton has insulted him. He mentioned, in his list of accomplishments, that he’ll soon appoint his “145th judge” in the face of “radical left judges.”

“Normally when the president assumes his position in the White House, he gets no judges. I inherited 138 judges,” he said, recalling a story he's fond of telling, in which the number of judges inherited (thought to actually be 103) changes often. “Percentage-wise, the only one who has a record greater than mine is George Washington.”

The crowd applauded especially for his Supreme Court appointees, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, who was accused of sexual assault during a contentious confirmation process.

He also touched on healthcare plans, telling the crowd “I’m keeping Obamacare alive because I felt I should do that” before launching into a thinly-veiled attack of senator John McCain. He noted that his opioid treatment budget includes spending for “faith-based organisations,” which received applause.

He also brought onstage Natalie Harp, a young woman he’d seen on Fox News, to discuss his support of Right to Try laws, which allows people to try experimental treatments. In an enthusiastic speech about her battle with cancer, which she says she ultimately won due to Right to Try, she praised the president as “my good Samaritan.”

“He gave up his quality of life to fight for us,” she told the crowd, who matched her extraordinary fervour. “He believes in survivors of the fighters, not the fittest.”

The president also included a small joke, mentioning that in conversations with Jerry Falwell Jr and Robert Jeffress, the evangelical leaders, have been upfront about the president’s lack of traditional evangelical training.

“They say, 'our president may not be the best at the Bible, he may not have read it 2000 times,'” he told the audience, “'but he’s the best for us.'”

To that notion, the crowd broke out into chants of “USA,” and more wild applause.