LOS ANGELES: Former president Donald Trump received a warm welcome on Thursday when he appeared before an audience of evangelical broadcasters, delivering a campaign-style speech littered with professions of faith and pledges to protect Christians.

The casino-owning playboy, who has been accused of paying hush money to a porn star, is wildly popular with the religious right in the United States, despite a life story at odds with their apparent values.

But for many of them, he is on a mission from God to save America from becoming a modern-day Sodom and Gomorrah.

And on Thursday, he gave them what they wanted.

“I come before you as a friend and an ally and a fellow believer to ask for

your help and your support and your prayers for this country,” he told a meeting of the National Religious Broadcasters group.

“We need your prayers most importantly, and I make you a simple promise: In my first term I fought for Christians harder than any president has ever done before.

“And I will fight even harder for Christians with four more years in the White House.”

Published in Dawn, February 24th, 2024