Transcript: Donald Trumps

closed-door meeting with

evangelical leaders
Jon Ward
Senior Political Correspondent
June 22, 2016

Editors note: Donald Trump met with several hundred evangelical

leaders in New York City on Tuesday to win over a voting bloc that is
leaning toward him but not embracing the presumptive Republican
nominee for president. Many conservative white evangelicals will never
vote for presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton but are unsure
they would go beyond voting for Trump to working on his behalf and
getting others to support him.
Trump spent more than an hour taking questions from former Arkansas
Gov. Mike Huckabee, one of his vanquished rivals in the GOP primary,
and other well-known conservative evangelical figures like James
Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family. Some speakers encouraged the
crowd to support Trump, while acknowledging that doing so might be
difficult for many of them. He doesnt expect you to agree with him on
every issue or to endorse or condone his style of leadership, said Jerry
Falwell Jr., president of Liberty University, who was one of the first
nationally known evangelical Christians to endorse Trump.
Reporters were not allowed into this event, but audio recordings of the
proceedings were given to Yahoo News by multiple attendees. The
following is a rough transcript of the event, lightly edited for clarity. It
picks up during an unknown mans introductory remarks.
Unidentified: As I sat there this morning we just spent time with Dr.
Carson and the next president of the United States, Donald Trump I
thought about two Bible verses. And Im going to paraphrase just a bit.
One is, For such a time as this, and the other one is this one, a
commandment from our Savior, when he said, Call unto me, and I will
do great and mighty things that you do not know. Think about that.

Call unto me, and I will do great and mighty things that you do not
know.
I have known Donald Trump since about 2 1/2 months before Barron was
born. I know his family. I recently put out an article across the country,
told the agriculture and rancher community that I believe America needs
a chief executive officer in the White House. [Applause.] I think that to
win this election, on the Republican side, we have to think out of the box.
And we have to be strategic. And we have to pray like it all depends
upon God and work like it all depends upon us.
It is an honor for me to introduce to you someone who is a great, great
friend to all of us. Ladies and gentlemen, Dr. Ben Carson. [Applause]
Ben Carson: Thank you. And thank all of you for coming out, altering
your schedules, and having faith that this would be a good investment of
your time. You know, America is such an incredible place. Its been such
an incredible place for me, coming born to poverty. My main goal was to
become middle class. Id think, wow, if I could just be middle class, that
would be so cool. This is a place that allows you, no matter where you
came from, if youre willing to work hard and play by the rules, to define
your own destiny. And thats so important for us to make sure it stays
that way. You know, this election thats coming up, this is about America
and about what America represents. This is what we have got to get
people to understand. There are so many people who say, I dont like
Donald Trump or I dont like Hillary Clinton or I dont like whoever.
But its not about Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton. This is about whether
this will be a nation that is of, for and by the people not of, for and by
the government.
You know, we all think that we have the special word from God. But the
fact of the matter is, this is like a chess match, and God is the great
grand master. Were the spectators. We all think, its time for him to
cancel right now, or to take that bishop with that rook, or to use that
knight. But sometimes he uses a pawn, sometimes he does things in a
way that is not very apparent to us. And thats where faith comes in.
Because God sets up the rulers, and he takes them down. We just need
to be willing to understand that, because you look, for instance, in the

case of Donald Trump. Just as an example. Ill pick him out of the air.
[Laughter]
Heres a person who, it seemed like every week, the pundits were
saying, Thats it hell never recover from that. Its all over. And then
hed go up in the polls. What that says to me is that God has something
to do with what is going on right now. The week before last, I was on CNN
with Jake Tapper, and he was saying, You know, even [radio host] Hugh
Hewitt is saying that Donald Trump is a terrible candidate and he cant
win. And hes not a Democrat. Hes one of you guys. And I said, Is he a
pundit? And he said, Well, yeah, hes a pundit. I said, You should do a
special program on how many times over the last two years, the pundits
have been right. Itll be a short program. [Laughter] The look on his face
was priceless after that.
If we go away from this meeting with the understanding that you all, who
have tremendous spheres of influence, had an opportunity to hear the
heart of Donald Trump on a lot of different issues Through the
questions, he will have an opportunity to hear your heart, and he heard
several different leaders this morning talk about whats on their heart.
We need to just keep in mind that Hillary Clinton, when she was in
college, was on a first-name basis with Saul Alinsky, who was her hero.
Saul Alinsky, who wrote the book Rules for Radicals. If you havent read
it, please read it. You need to know who youre dealing with. And on the
dedication page, guess who it acknowledges? Lucifer, who gave his own
kingdom as a radical. [Moans from the audience]
This is who we are dealing with, ladies and gentlemen. You know, the
ship is about to sail off Niagara Falls, full of passengers and everybodys
about to be killed. You know what we have to do? We have to stop the
ship number one. Number two, we have to turn it around. And number
three, we have to sail in the other direction. There are a lot of people
who think you can do all of that at the same time. You cannot. First, lets
stop the ship. Lets do that this fall in massive numbers. We can then
turn it around. We can then sail it in the other direction. Im not going to
tell you who you should vote for. Im just telling you to use your brain.
Theres a reason that God gave us these very sophisticated brains, made
in His image. And it should be very apparent who is interested in

religious liberty and who is interested in taking those things away from
us. But we are the ones who make the determination. Its time for us to
put the stake in the ground, and not sit down and shut up like they want
us to do. But to stand up for our faith. Thank you. [Applause]
To get us started, I want to introduce a good friend, a wonderful
individual who you all know. We met decades ago and have had the
pleasure Candy and I of actually being flown by him in an airplane.
Hes a pilot as well as a great evangelist. Hes a person of strong
conviction who does not believe in political correctness, which makes
him a hero in my book. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Dr.
Franklin Graham.
Franklin Graham (president and CEO of the Billy Graham
Evangelistic Association): Thank you. Its been my privilege these last
few months to travel across the country, to hold prayer rallies at state
capitals, on their steps. When we first pulled out permits, we pulled them
for 500 people, but we had no clue how many would come. Thousands
and thousands gathered, in the cold in some places, early in the year in
snow, in rain. We had thousands come to pray. Not to hear me, but
theyd come to pray because they know our country is in trouble. And
ladies and gentlemen, I dont need to convince you of that you know
that. And as we look at who is to be the next president of the United
States, many people are looking at qualities. And Id like to take just a
moment to look at the Bible.
Some of the individuals are our patriarchs: Abraham great man of
faith. But he lied. Moses led his people out of bondage, but he disobeyed
God. David committed adultery and then he committed murder. The
Apostles turned their back on the Lord Jesus Christ in his greatest hour of
need, they turned their backs and they ran. Peter denied him three
times. All of this to say, there is none of us is perfect. Were all guilty of
sin. Franklin Graham stands here in front of you today as a sinner. But
Ive been forgiven by Gods grace. He forgave me. I invited Christ to
come into my heart and my life. He forgave me. Theres no perfect
person theres only one, and thats the Lord Jesus Christ. And hes not
running for president of the United States. This year.

So I would just like to open up with a word of prayer. Our Heavenly

Father, we thank you that you love us. Thank you for sending your son
Jesus Christ from heaven to this earth to save us. To save us from our
sins. Thank you that he took our sins to that cross, that you raised him to
life, thank you, Father. And, Father as we look at this nation, as we
look at the trouble that were in Father, we recognize as a people that
we have failed. We have sinned. And we ask for your forgiveness, Father.
And, Father, we pray this election that you will give a man to be the
president of this country who will honor life, who will respect our
Constitution, who will respect the authority of the office. And, Father, we
pray that your will will be done. And, Father, we ask now that you would
bless this meeting and this time together, as Mr. Trump is able to answer
questions. And, Father, we pray that each one here today will leave this
room with a new appreciation of this man and this family. So, Father, we
thank you. And in Jesus name, we pray. Amen.
I would like to introduce now a very good friend of mine. Jerry Falwell Jr.,
who doesnt need an introduction. He has one of the great universities,
that his father started, that he has taken it to a whole new level. My
three sons found their wives at Liberty University, and so I owe a great
debt to Jerrys daddy, who is now in heaven and Im sure hes watching
us today. But he is a great friend, and I have a lot of respect for Jerry
Falwell Jr. Jerry, come.
Jerry Falwell Jr. (president of Liberty University): Franklin
mentioned that his three sons came to Liberty. He didnt mention that
the youngest of the three spent more time out at our farm than he did
studying. I wrote many notes for him, excusing him for not being ready
for a test. But he made it through, and we love the whole Franklin
Graham family.
But first, I want to get Gov. Mike Huckabee to come out and sit on the
platform, get ready. Hes going to be the moderator this morning.
[Applause] Gov. Huckabee was telling us at dinner last night how in
1979, Ronald Reagan addressed a group just like this, and he told the
group, I understand that the rules in many cases dont allow you to
endorse me, but Im here to endorse you and what you believe. That
changed the tide of that election, and I see some folks with gray hair

nodding who remember that. It was great to be reminded of that last

night by the governor. Its my distinct honor and privilege to welcome a
man who Ive introduced twice at Liberty University. And over the last
four years, my wife and I have remained in close contact with Mr. Trump.
As our friendship has grown, so has my admiration for Mr. Trump. As you
know, Liberty University does not support or oppose candidates for
public office a lawyer makes me say that but I personally feel
strongly that Donald Trump is Gods man to lead our nation at this crucial
crossroads in our countrys history. [Applause]
Many of you knew my father well. He loved God, loved his country. He
was criticized in the early 1980s for supporting Ronald Reagan over
Jimmy Carter because Reagan was a Hollywood actor who had been
married and divorced and remarried. Jimmy Carter was a Southern
Baptist Sunday school teacher. He later was criticized for supporting
George Bush Sr. over his good friend the Rev. Pat Robertson. But he
proudly replied to those criticisms that when Jesus said render unto
Caesar the things that are Caesars, that meant we are to be good
citizens, voting, active in the political process, serving in our armed
forces, if necessary. And while Jesus never told us how to vote, he gave
us all the good common sense to choose the best leaders. Sunday was
Fathers Day. My family made it a very special day for me. It reminded
me of some of the things my father said that seem particularly relevant
today. In 2006, when there was first talk of Hillary Clinton running for
president, he said, I hope Hillary is the candidate because nothing will
energize my constituency like Hillary Clinton. He said, If Lucifer himself
ran, that wouldnt work as well.
His last national interview was with Christiane Amanpour of CNN just a
few days before his death in 2007, and in that interview he joked that he
had dreamed recently that Chelsea Clinton had interviewed him and
asked him what are the three greatest threats facing our nation. He
replied, Osama, Obama, and your mama. Now Osamas gone, Obamas
on his way out, and we have the chance to make sure that Chelseas
mama goes out of politics with them.
In the last presidential election, there were 25 million Christians who
were registered but who didnt bother to show up at the polls. We are the

single most influential voting bloc. My fathers polarizing statements

made people who didnt know him think that he was tough and mean,
but he was anything but. People who knew him personally attested to
the fact that he helped people in need. He couldnt keep any money in
his pocket because he gave it away to whoever needed some help. And
he gave away so many scholarships at Liberty University, he nearly
bankrupted the school. But Ive come to see many of these same
qualities in Donald Trump. I want to introduce you to the Donald Trump
that I know, to tell you why I trust him. Not Donald Trump in the media,
or of his critics. Ive seen a man who honors his fiduciary responsibilities
through his corporations. He makes tough decisions to ensure his
businesses success. He speaks the truth publicly even if it is
uncomfortable for people to hear. Yet he treats his friends, his
employees, and people in need with the greatest respect, loyalty and
generosity.
I gave many examples of Mr. Trumps personal generosity when I
welcomed him to Liberty University earlier this year. Ecclesiastes
3:8 says that there is a time for war and a time for peace. Now it is, from
my perspective, the time for peace. To me this election is very simple.
We have an election between someone who promises he will support
issues important to us as Christians, including appointing justices to the
Supreme Court who would make us all proud. Thats Donald Trump. And
someone who promises she will do just the opposite. Thats Hillary
Clinton. Donald Trump is a breath of fresh air in a nation where the
political establishment of both parties has betrayed their constituencies
time and time again with broken promises and a continuation of the
status quo. Mr. Trump is a bold and fearless leader who will take the fight
to our enemies, and to the radical Islamic terrorists, whether they attack
in San Bernardino, Orlando or Paris. Or whether they simply just steal
American jobs through unfair trade practices.
The day after Ronald Reagan became president, Iran released American
hostages that had been held for 444 days. In my opinion, the day after
Trump becomes president, every terrorist in the world will crawl under a
rock in similar fashion. He is here because no leader leads alone. He
wants to hear from you, from us, and he has been a friend to this

community. He is and has been a friend. He doesnt expect you to agree

with him on every issue or to endorse or condone his style of leadership.
If we all wait for the perfect candidate who has the demeanor of our
pastors and agrees with us on every issue including our personal
theological beliefs then we may all sit at home on Election Day for the
rest of our lives. How many of you can honestly say that you agree with
your spouse on everything? I know I cant. Donald Trump shuns the
censorship that is rooted in political correctness and speaks the plain
common-sense truth that so many have been longing to hear. The
mainstream press expected this to end his candidacy early on, but it did
just the opposite. He soared in the polls and now is the presumptive
Republican nominee.
Liberty University is a unique institution because unlike most nonprofit
universities, we try to operate like a business, emphasizing efficiency,
treating students like customers. As general counsel at Liberty in my
younger years, we fought to survive. I spent many days negotiating with
creditors and spent many weekends with my father, begging and
borrowing from lenders and donors to cover the paychecks that we had
already written on the Friday before. But by applying common-sense
business principles with an entrepreneurial spirit, we finally saw success.
In just the last five years, Liberty has become one of only about 70
universities in the country that are rated AA or AAA by Standard and
Poors and Moodys. The Chronicle of Higher Education in February of the
past year predicted that Libertys business model could become the
future of higher education. It was reported in the Richmond Times just
this week that Liberty has bucked the trend of divestment in Israel by
many major institutions by doing just the opposite and investing many
millions of dollars of our endowment in Israel.
Donald Trump is the only candidate in this election who has achieved
independent financial success. Hes not a puppet on a string like the
other candidate, who has wealthy donors some from countries who
oppress women and gays as her puppet masters. And thats a key
reason why so many voters are attracted to him. Imagine how wonderful
it would be for once that the United States of America has as its
president a man who has built companies from scratch, who knows what

it feels like to be solely responsible for finding the money each week to
cover payroll, who runs the nation with the same entrepreneurial
business principles that have brought success to his own companies. You
know, our Founding Fathers envisioned a nation governed by citizen
legislators, and I believe the American public is finally ready to elect a
candidate who is not a career politician, but rather who has succeeded in
life, in the real life, in the real world. Please welcome a man who I pray
earnestly will be the next president of the United States, Mr. Donald J.
Trump. [Applause]
Mike Huckabee: Mr. Trump, I want to begin by expressing appreciation
to you for coming and being willing to sit at the assembly of some of the
great spiritual leaders and faith leaders in America. And Im pretty sure
Im right when I say that I dont think Hillary is gonna have a meeting
like this, where shes willing to sit down with the faith community,
answer questions, and speak from the heart to the people of our country.
I want to say, on behalf of all these folks who are gathered, thank you.
[Applause]
Donald Trump: This began as just a little event. Ben Carson came
up we love Ben. Weve become really, really great friends. He said,
Would it be possible? We have some religious leaders, we have some
great evangelicals, good Christians, and just a small gathering. Maybe
100 people. I figured 15-20 minutes, maybe half an hour to see them. I
said, Absolutely, Ben. Itd be my honor. And this came out to be over
1,000 people. And you know what? That shows we all love each other,
and thats so important. Ben is one of the greatest salesmen Ive ever
met. He said, Do you think you can keep it going longer than the time?
And I said, Absolutely. So were gonna spend as much time as we need
today.
Huckabee: I think its fair to say that were all happy to be here, but Ben
Carson and I arent as happy to be here. [Laughter] We are here today
because the people of America have overwhelmingly decided that you
should be the nominee of the Republican Party. I want to make sure that
you know that people have not come to this room as an imposition.
Theyve not come to this room to try to trap you or trick you. Theyve

come to this room because they want to be behind somebody who will
lead this nation out of the abyss that we have been in for eight years.
Were gonna have a number of questions from delightful individuals who
have carefully thought through the questions they want to ask. Were
going to get to as many of them as we humanly can. Well try to keep
the questions as short as possible, and the answers brief and to the
point, so that we can get to everybody. Before we go to the individual
questions, theres something that I want to say to you and ask you to
respond to it. Because its something that I saw, in a way that most
people would not have seen. Because if they werent on the stage during
the presidential debates and also backstage, they would not have seen
what I saw, what Ben Carson saw.
The relationship that you have with your family, the relationship and
bond that you have with your adult children, is one of the most
admirable Ive ever seen from any father with children. [Applause]
People can fake it onstage they can walk out and do a happy family
moment but you cant fake that backstage, over and over again. What
I saw was real. And it was one of the reasons that I have had no
hesitation endorsing you, supporting you, and enthusiastically
encouraging people to get behind your candidacy. Were going to talk
about a lot of issues. But I want you to begin today by expressing: What
is it about the relationship you have with your children that is so special?
What is that bond all about?
Trump: Well, thank you very much. Thats such a nice question. I have
great children. I mean, I have really five wonderful children. Three of
them are now well, Eric is right here. Through God, they were born
intelligent. They went to top colleges. Thats really a part of it, because
in a certain way, you have to be lucky with that, to be honest. Maybe its
not luck. I think its more than luck. They were all very good students. I
better knock on wood when I say all this stuff, because Ill get a
call Did you know about this? Its a vicious world out there, folks.
So many of my friends who have children who are very, very smart,
theyve got everything going, familys got money, and everythings fine.
And theyll call me up and say, Will you see my son, will you see my
daughter? Because I love the way your children are. I get a lot of

compliments on the children. And I have to say, the thing that I always
tell parents is because Im asked to speak about it is I would from
the time they were little children I mean, they didnt even know what
the words meant. No drugs, no alcohol, and Id say, No cigarettes, Id
add it in. Because if you dont have to smoke, its an advantage, OK? But
no drugs, no alcohol, no cigarettes, always. And it would drive them
crazy. Theyd say, Dad, stop! I remember Ivanka just going, I cant
take it! She didnt even know what drugs and alcohol were. But Id drum
it Eric can tell you. Id drum it into them because Ive seen so many
children who are as smart as you can get, the highest IQs, everything
else. Its over because they got hooked on something. Its such a
competitive world. Its more dangerous than ever, the most dangerous
weve ever had thats why we need to take care of our military, we
have to take care of all our things. Were not going to be here, we can
only do so much. But I always tell people, No drugs, no alcohol, no
cigarettes.
And I add to some if its appropriate: I say, if they go to church and if
they start at a young age, thats a tremendous asset. You dont see that
too much today, where I went to Sunday school at First Presbyterian
Church in [unintelligible]. It was like, you go to Sunday school, you have
to do that. Its not like, oh gee. Its like automatic. Today, I dont think its
so automatic. And maybe we can get back into a position where its
automatic. [Applause]
The government has gotten so involved in your religion.
Especially your religion, that it makes it very difficult. Well talk about
that. Mike and I have been discussing it, and I think we have some very
important things to say. The next president its going to be vital. Not
only with Supreme Court justices, which well also talk about at length.
But also in things like freeing up your religion, freeing up your thoughts,
freeing up your. You talk about religious liberty and religious freedom.
You really dont have religious freedom, if you really think about it,
because when President Johnson had his tenure, he passed something
that makes people very, very nervous to even talk to preserve their taxexempt status. Its taken a lot of power away from Christianity and other
religions. Ive seen it. This is something that Ive brought up. I was telling

Mike, Ive been meeting with Paula White, whos been so involved, Pastor
Paula shes over here. And Darrell Scott and Pastor Burgess. We were
at a meeting of 50 ministers, pastors, Christians, two rabbis. I said, Why
is it that the whole thing with Christianity, its not going in the right
direction? Its getting weaker, weaker, weaker from a societal
standpoint? And over the course of various meetings, I realized that
there are petrified ministers and churches. They speak before 25,000
people, the most incredible speakers you could ever see, better than any
politician by far. And yet when it comes to talking about it openly or who
they support or why they support somebody because hes a person a
man or a woman who is into their values, theyre petrified to do it.
And I couldnt get the answer. And then one day, at one of our meetings,
somebody said, Theyre petrified of losing their tax-exempt status. And
I said, What is that all about? And they went into it. It was what
happened during the Johnson administration. And I will tell you folks that
some of you will agree, some of you will disagree, and some of you, its
been ingrained and thats the worst thing because you dont even think
about it. You cant see the forest for the trees, some of you are so close
to it. But I can tell you, I watched this during the last year, and I watched
fear in the hearts of brave, incredible people. And we are going to get rid
of that, because you should have the right to speak. [Applause]
Huckabee: You mentioned Paula White. The two of you have been very
close personally. Shes been like a spiritual counselor and adviser. Its not
something you go around talking about all the time. One of the things Id
say to all the people here: My conversations with Paula, who I adore, is a
great reminder to me that you are willing to listen to spiritual counsel
from people who you know and you trust. Thats very encouraging and
comforting. I dont think anybody here expects you to be theological
today. I want to put you at ease. Because I dont think anyones here
thinking were interviewing you to be our next pastor. This is not a
pastoral search committee. So youre off the hook for deep theological
questions, and I think thats probably important. Some people are very
vocal about their faith, and other people are not. But its like the old guy
said: Some people eat their soup louder than other people, but it doesnt

mean the soup tastes any different. So we understand that. We come at

this with that clarity.
Lets get to the questions. And I think the first one were gonna have is
from Dr. Dobson.
James Dobson (founder of Focus on the Family): I am delighted to
be here with the Gospel greats. Its just a wonderful thing to see this
assembly. Its wall-to-wall and front-to-back. Its a pleasure. I also want
to tell you that I have some water here with me, and I want to tell you
why. Ive had some trouble with my voice, and I went to an ear, nose and
throat doctor just a month ago. And he ran a thing down my nose, looked
at my larynx, and he got a grim look on his face. I said, Whats my
problem? And he said, You talk too much. Im gonna keep this real
short. We just came from another meeting, and I expressed some
thoughts to Donald Trump, and Ive been asked to repeat them. I just
want to say, Sir, thank you for being here. I think everybody appreciates
the fact that you took the time from all that youve got going on.
[Applause]
In order to facilitate this session, the request for questions to be given to
Mr. Trump was submitted to over a million people I think that many,
Im not sure. Fifty thousand questions came back. And then they did an
analysis of those questions to see what people wanted Mr. Trump to talk
about. The number one issue was religious liberty more than anything
else. Because all the other issues relate to that one. And were losing it.
Were losing our religious liberty. As you know, thats bred into our spirits
and the American way of life. The Pilgrims came to this country with one
motivation that drove them more than anything else: the desire to live
free and be able to worship the God of their choice. That has set the tone
for everything thats come after.
And then, of course, our Founding Fathers wrote that in the Constitution,
where the Bill of Rights, those 10 enumerated rights, started with
religious liberty. It was put number one for a reason! Because that sets
the tone. That is the foundation for all our other freedoms. And yet when
Barack Obama became president, I think there was a conscious effort to
undermine our religious liberty. Youve probably seen it from that time to
this. Have you noticed that the president and Democrats and

Hillary yes, Hillary no longer talk about freedom of religion? They

talk about freedom of worship. Why have they changed that? Its very
small, a one-word change. Well, freedom of worship means that you are
confined to your churches and your synagogues, but freedom of religion,
as identified in the Constitution, is in the public square, its everywhere.
So they have tried to limit us to our church activity. So were seeing more
and more of that.
Mr. Trump, we would like you to start your comments by answering that
question: What will your administration do to help promote all of our
freedoms all of the Bill of Rights, and what it has meant to be an
American and protect us? Or do we have to fight another
Revolutionary War to preserve them?
Trump: Thank you very much, I appreciate it. First of all, Im not
surprised to hear that that is the number one question. We talk about
religious liberty, and I think it is the number one question. There are
numerous things that were going to be doing. For one thing, were going
to appoint great Supreme Court justices. [Applause]
And these will be Supreme Court justices that will be great intellects,
that will be talented men in what they do (and women), but also be prolife. [Applause] As you know, because of the fact that I havent been a
politician for very long Ive been a politician now for a little more than
12 months I was on the other side of it. I was a major contributor, I
was part of the establishment. And all of a sudden when I ran, they said,
Wow, hes an outsider. I became an outsider in 24 hours. But I
decided because theres always skepticism of someone who hasnt
been speaking to the public for 25 years and you know exactly what
their views are I decided to name 11 justices that were highly vetted
by the Federalist Society and others. Ill probably name four or five more
that will be on a list, so theyll know who well be picking. But were
doing a list, so they know who were going to be picking. Itll be either
them or people who are very similar.
We lost a great one in Scalia, Justice Scalia, and that was a great
surprise. But this president, this next president, could have as many as
five. Hard to believe. I dont believe theres ever been as many as five.
But we could have five justices of the Supreme Court. Probably three,

very possibly four, and could even be five. So if Hillary gets in, we know
what shes going to be putting in there. We know exactly whats going to
happen. Were going to end up being a different world, a different
country. Were going to end up being a Venezuela if she gets in, for a lot
of different reasons. You see whats going on in Venezuela right now,
where theyre fighting each other, killing each other over a loaf of bread.
We are going to have a lot of problems in this country. So I just think its
so important.
And, again, what I said in my opening remarks, having to do with the
Johnson Amendment, whatever you want to call it, everybody knows
exactly what it is. A lot of people in the church dont like to talk about it.
[The Johnson Amendment prohibited political endorsements by taxexempt organizations.] I think it may be my greatest contribution to
Christianity and other religions is to allow you to go and speak
openly. If you like somebody and you want somebody to represent you,
you should have the right to do that. [Applause]
In one of these meetings with the pastors and ministers, I pointed out to
the street on Fifth Avenue, and I said, You know, those people walking
down the street individually have more power than you do because they
can say whatever they want and you cant. And we have to get rid of
that, and if we dont, I really think youre going to have a continuing
spiral. And I dont want to see that, because Ive been a Christian and I
love Christianity. And the evangelicals have been so incredibly
supportive. Dont forgetwhen I ran, and all of a sudden I went to states
that are highly evangelical like, as an example, South Carolina. And
not only did I win, I won in a landslide, and the evangelicals were on my
side. And then I won the South, and I won all over. And the evangelicals
were so incredible. They really get me, they understand me, and its an
amazing group.
I always say, were gonna have a time very soon, when I get elected,
when people are going to say Merry Christmas again. You dont say it
right now. You go into the big department stores, they dont have Merry
Christmas up. They have Happy Holidays, and now even that is coming
under assault. You cant say Happy Holidays. Were becoming so
politically correct that we cant function as a country anymore.

[Applause] Were going to be saying Merry Christmas again, and were

going to be saying a lot of other things. When coaches arent allowed to
pray on the field with their team, [applause] going into battle? Thats a
disgrace, and thats gonna change. And not everybody has to pray if
they dont want to, and thats fine. But when a coach has a team and
theyre going into battle and theyre restricted from praying and they
fire the coach! those days will be over. [Applause]
Huckabee: I honestly think we almost stop now, because what you just
said was so refreshing.
Trump: I will say, I know you like it, I know Dr. Dobson likes it this is a
tremendous man, by the way [tape change]. Hillary they covered
her on Fox today. If she says something, the mainstream media doesnt
want to pick it up. They dont pick it up. They protect her. If we say
something we, as a group its brutal. But Ive been really hit for
everything. They take a great story and make it a somewhat negative
story. Its amazing. Its really, its an incredible thing to watch. I will say
this: The polls, the polls came out today. And they came out on CNN. The
CNN anchors were devastated because theyre so close. They said,
Trumps had his worst three weeks which I didnt think I did! I had my
worst three weeks in the press, but I dont think I had my worst three
weeks by any stretch. But the Post came out there was a 3- to 4-point
spread. They say, I cant believe it, she had the best two weeks of her
life, and theres very little difference in the polls. I tell you, folks, if we
get out and vote, were gonna win so easily. So easily.
Ronnie Floyd (former president of the Southern Baptist
Convention): Thank you, Mr. Trump. Its a great honor for me to stand
and represent all these people today to ask you this question. As
evangelical believers, oftentimes the media frames us as a voting bloc.
But the term evangelical means a lot more than that to us. It means
that we believe the Bible is the absolute authority for all of life, faith and
practice; that Jesus Christ is the only way to salvation; that the ultimate
hope of the world is to get the Gospel to all people in the world,
regardless of the color of their skin. And we also believe that every
person has worth, that God has created us all in His image. And with
that, today, I ask this question to you: President Obama was the first

black president in American history. And, unquestionably, this was a

great triumph for the United States, for civil rights. And we all celebrate
that moment. Yet, the nation seems today to be more divided racially
and there is more violence in the inner cities than when President Obama
was elected. My question is pertaining to you and your administration. If
youre elected president of the United States, what will you do to address
the real need of poverty and crime, violence and a lack of opportunity in
the urban areas of our country? And to heal the worsening racial tension
in the United States of America?
Trump: Now, there is one word that would take care of a big chunk of it,
and thats jobs. We need jobs. [Applause] Our jobs are being taken away
to other countries. NAFTA which is one of the worst things ever signed
economically in this countrys history, it was signed by Bill Clinton its
a disaster. I won all these states by such big margins, Im looking at all
these factories that closed 20 years ago and are rotting, really. Jobs have
to be brought back. With that, we also have to understand and they
dont get enough credit but our police forces do an unbelievable job.
They are so ridiculed and so maligned: You have one bad actor,
something happens, its a national story for weeks, and they dont show
you the good work the police do. One thing I have to say is that when
Obama got elected, I didnt think he was going to be a great
president I didnt know it would be like this. But I thought he would
be a great cheerleader, especially when youre talking about the inner
cities. And what they need is they need training, but they also need
spirit. Theres no spirit in these inner cities. You look at whats going on
in Chicago. Chicagos like a tale of two cities. Theres no training, theres
no spirit, theres no hope for these people. Weve gotta get in and weve
gotta straighten it out. Weve got a spirit crisis in this country, and Im
not only talking about the inner cities Im talking everywhere.
People are showing up to my rallies because the economys terrible. The
5 percent [unemployment rate] is a phony number thats derived by
politicians who were [unintelligible] years ago before Obama to
make presidents and politicians look good. And you all know, youve
heard it a thousand times you look for a job, you look look look, and
then you give up. And then youre not considered unemployed because

youre not looking. The real numbers gotta be over 20 percent, the real
number. The job situation theyre bad jobs. The other thing, because
of Obamacare which we will repeal and replace, 100 percent the
premiums are going through the roof. You know, in Texas, Blue Cross
BlueShield, because of Obamacare, they just announced a
60 percent increase. Theyre going to announce an increase on Nov. 1,
for much of the country, thats going to be so high that its election
changing. Believe me. Election changing. And now what theyre trying to
do, because of the election, theyre trying to get that notice, instead of
Nov. 1, theyre trying to get Dec. 1 or next year. And we cannot let that
happen. Because its going to be numbers that are even higher than
Texas, thats what Im hearing.
It is a horrible thing thats going on with Obamacare. Its a ruse. It was
gotten there by fraud. I mean, he said 28 times, youll keep your doctor,
youll keep your plan, all this stuff. And even Democrats say thats why
they voted for it. I mean it only passed by, like, a vote. But were gonna
repeal it and replace it. Were gonna get to the inner cities. We need a lot
of work on the inner cities. Its one of the toughest jobs were gonna
have. The inner cities are a tough, tough job. Thats been going on for a
long time. And through various incentives and lots of other things,
including spirit and training, were gonna get things straightened out.
People dont wanna talk about the inner cities. But one of the toughest
problems we have is right there. Its not something our politicians wanna
talk about.
David Jeremiah (senior pastor of Shadow Mountain Community
Church): Mr. Trump, were happy to be here and stand with you. This
has been already a great morning. We just came back from Israel, where
we led 700 people on a tour of the Holy Land. While we were there, we
had this incredible sense that the people of Israel feel abandoned by this
country. Over the last seven years, the relationship that we have with
Israel has deteriorated to such a degree that I felt like apologizing to
them over what has happened. For those of us who are Christians, this is
not just a policy issue, because we know, theologically, that weve been
given our orders with regard to Israel. [Applause]

God told Abraham, I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse those
who curse you. Our status as a nation depends upon our relationship
with Israel. And we need a president who will be a friend to the people of
Israel. They are a little country, the size of New Jersey, surrounded by 37
nations who want to obliterate them off the face of the earth. We are the
only friend they have. If you should become president, and I believe you
will, and Im already praying that you will When you become
president, we want to know how you are going to stand with Israel and
stand against those who want them to give up some of their land in
order to have peace.
Trump: Im 100 percent for Israel. I have been forever. It is an amazing
country. It has been shunned by the United States, in favor of Iran and
others. Nobody knows whats going on. The Iran deal is one of the worst
deals Ive ever seen. Im not even talking about country to country. Im
just talking as a negotiation. They should use that as a study at the
Wharton School of Finance on how not to do a deal. [Laughter] We gave
everything, including were giving them back $150 billion, and now
theyre going around buying anything they want, including probably
nuclear weapons. I said, they wont have to make em, they can buy em.
In particular, it was a horrible deal for Israel. So many of my friends are
Jewish. In all fairness, they supported Obama over the years. I would say,
Why are you doing this? Hes a disaster for Israel. They love Israel,
they fight for Israel, and then they support Obama. If you look at Bibi
Netanyahu, I dont know if hes said it publicly, but I cant imagine that
he likes Obama too much. [Laughter] He has forsaken these people for
Iran and others, but Iran in particular. And, folks, Iran has become a
major power. Theyre gonna take over Iraq. I was against the war in Iraq,
but I was totally against the way we got out of Iraq as well. I said, Keep
the oil, keep the oil, keep the oil. They didnt keep the oil. In the old
days of going to war, youd keep it, right? To the victor go the spoils.
Folks, honestly? We have stupid people leading this country.
I could say it I went to an Ivy League school, I could say it much nicer
than that. But theres no better description. [Laughter] And now Israels
almost like lost to our country. We will bring that back, and we will bring
it back fast. Were going to be close to Israel.

Samuel Rodriguez (president of the National Hispanic Christian

Leadership Conference): Latino evangelicals are not a monolithic
voting constituency, but it is the fastest-growing religious demographic
right now. It is a community committed to life were staunchly
committed to life; biblical truth; were committed to educational equality.
One of the issues that concerns us is immigration. We are not in favor of
amnesty. We have every right to stop all illegal immigration as
expeditiously as possible. [Applause] There are terrorists coming in,
narco traffickers coming in that want to do us harm. But you talk about
building a wall. And because of whats taken place previously and
even the interpretation through various media platforms and
such there is the idea in the Latino community that you have no
commitment whatsoever to building a bridge to the Hispanic-American
community. Whats your strategy, Mr. Trump, in doing both things in
protecting our borders, protecting our nation, and simultaneously
building a bridge with this wonderful community called the HispanicAmerican community?
Trump: We have a country, but we dont have borders. The southern
border is a disaster. Coming in through the southern border are massive,
massive, massive amounts of drugs and lots of problems. If we dont
have a border, we dont have a country. And there is no country. Theres
gotta be a border, a line, you know, something to obey. I have thousands
of Latinos and Hispanics and Mexicans working for me, phenomenal
people. And this has nothing to do with anything other than, to have a
country, we have to have a border. I did the wall, and the wall has
become massively popular with tremendous numbers. You know, Hillary
Clinton wanted a wall I think in 06, she wanted to build a wall. I
watched the other day. There was a clip of her wanting to build a wall. I
received the other day, 60,500 endorsements from the border patrol
guards. [Applause] These are intelligent people who do their jobs, who I
got to know by going down to the border, and I said to them, So let me
ask you, how important is the wall? And they said, So important, Mr.
Trump, you have no idea. We need the wall. Its another tool and maybe
our most important tool in stopping whats happening with drugs and
people coming illegally over the border. And I said, Good I feel good

about it when you say that. Because if you didnt say that, frankly, I
dont know what Id do, because you people know better than anybody.
And you know, their job is much easier now. Because theyre told to
stand back, dont do anything. And whats happened is that people are
just pouring across the border. Look around the country. Were going to
stop them. Weve got heroin pouring into this country thats destroying
the fabric of our childrens lives and lives beyond our children. When I
won New Hampshire, I got very, very familiar with the people up there. I
talked about it all the time. You see these beautiful valleys, these rivers
and streams. Its so beautiful as a place. And I said, Whats your biggest
problem? They said, Heroin. And I said, Heroin? It doesnt match.
Heroin doesnt go with that stream. And they said, No, its pouring
across the borders. Its cheaper than candy, practically. And our children
are hooked. We have to help those people get better because theyre so
badly hooked. We have to stop this junk from pouring into our country.
If my children were hooked on heroin, they wouldnt be with me now,
they wouldnt be doing well, and they wouldnt know whats even
happening. Because Ive seen it. Its a horrible, horrible drug. And there
are plenty of other drugs too, by the way, coming in. So were gonna
build a wall, and I think were doing very well with Hispanics. You know, a
man who has a radio station in New York, all Hispanic, he was on
television the other day. And he said, I dont know. I see these polls. And
I have a radio talk station. All these people calling up, theyre all, you
know, Latino. Theyre all in favor of Trump. They all want Trump. And he
was just a guy on television. I think he owned the station or something.
He said, Theyre all in favor of Trump.
So I hear the polls, but I dont see it. And Sammy sort of alluded to that
today when we were discussing it. I think we have tremendous support.
And especially from people who are here legally. Because they dont
want to have their jobs taken away. They dont want their houses taken
away. I think were going to do a fantastic job. But the wall is very
important from this standpoint. And, by the way, other politicians said,
You cant build a wall, like its hard to build. In China, they built the
Great Wall of China, which is 13 times longer. Thirteen times. They built
the Great Wall of China in well, they probably didnt have Caterpillar

tractors, by the way. You know, 2,000 years ago, they built the Great Wall
of China, and were saying we cant build the wall. The wall is so easy
from a construction standpoint. They actually wanted to build it, and
they were unable to get their environmental impact statements can
you believe that? Because probably a certain form of rattlesnake was in
their way. Thats a true story.
I jokingly say, as China is building a massive, massive military facility in
the South China Sea, I say, How long do you think it took them to get
their environmental impact statements? As they have the largest
excavators in the world ripping the hell out of the ocean and dumping?
They started working not on Monday, they started working on Saturday
morning.
You know, we are really in a very dangerous world right now, and were
going to have to readjust our thinking very, very rapidly. [Applause]
Tony Perkins (president of the Family Research
Council): Governor, I want to thank you for arranging your schedule to
be here to moderate this. And I just want you to know that we all
appreciate what youve done for our country as well. [Applause] Mr.
Trump, thank you for being here. I want to ask you a question thats kind
of at the intersection of faith and our military. As a veteran of the Marine
Corps, Im very concerned. This administration has implemented policies
allowing open homosexuality in our military, unilaterally placed women
in infantry and special operations units. And the administration is now,
before they leave, urgently pushing transgenderism within the ranks of
our military. Now in the wake of these policies, weve seen sexual
assaults in our military go through the roof. And weve seen religious
liberty constantly attacked. Even this week, I believe the video has gone
viral of a retirement ceremony in which a 33-year veteran was physically
carried out because he mentioned God at a retirement ceremony.
This is my question for you, Mr. Trump. What policies, if any, of the
Obama administration will you reverse? And what steps will you take to
restore our military and the rights of our men and women in uniform to
practice their religious freedom?
Trump: Good question, Tony. First of all, I did read the story about rape
in the military. Its inconceivable whats going on. Its a tremendous

problem. And its another problem that people arent talking about. Very
rarely do you hear about it or talk about it. Tony can bring it up, but very
few people are open about it. Its big stuff. Our military is so important
from any standpoint. You know when you talk about the most important
jobs of a president, you always have to go with defense, defense, right? I
mean, without the defense. And we need a strong military. Our
military has been totally depleted. I saw the other day you probably
saw on a couple of the networks where they were talking about our
fighter planes where theyre old, theyre 18 to 20 years old. Were using
these planes to fight. These are the planes were using. And they have
no parts because theyre so old we dont make the parts anymore. So
theyre going into plane graveyards. And theyre going into museums,
where the planes are shown in museums. And yet we still have them
fighting and using. Theyre obsolete. Theyre old. And theyre taking
parts theyre pirating parts off of these planes.
And our military is so badly depleted. And we fight all over the place. We
fight in little pockets here, here. We dont win anything. We dont fight to
win. Nobody knows why, but were doing it. We used to fight to win. We
dont fight to win. And you know its interesting, because prior to
Vietnam, we never lost. Now we never win. You thought we won in Iraq?
We didnt win in Iraq. We handed Iraq to Iran. We have given Iraq with
among the largest oil reserves in the world we have given it to Iran
through sheer stupidity. Thats the better deal. Forget about the Iran deal
that I talk about for the $150 billion. And, by the way, you know about
this, $150 billion and we dont get our prisoners back until the deal is
done. We should have never negotiated until we got those prisoners
back. And we should have doubled up the sanctions. We double up the
sanctions, and you say, You let them go, and then well start
negotiating. And then we should have never given them the $150
[billion]. We should have just said, We dont have it. We dont have it.
[Audio a bit garbled here over laughter and coughs. Trump shifts topics
to the federal budget, which allows Syrian refugees in, he says.]
Trump continues: We have no idea who they are, where they are. And
theyre put all over the country. Even the governors I had a meeting
with seven governors even the governors of this country, they dont

know where these people are going. They dont know where theyre
being placed. Its crazy. This could be the greatest Trojan horse. This
could be the real-deal Trojan horse, OK fellas? We have no idea who
these people are. And the governors dont even know whos being put
into their communities. Theyre just putting them in. Its a very, very
serious problem. Well, the omnibus budget pays for that. It pays for
illegals coming into the country. It pays for Obamacare. I mean, how
were doing this is just incredible. You ever see your Congress people
and other people, and senators they go down and they fight, they
fight. And then they go down to Washington. Theyre going to clean
things up. And then they get down there and they vote for Obamacare.
And they get down there, and they vote for these budgets that are so
horrendous.
Its almost like I tell this story you know, kiddingly, but probably not
kiddingly where somebody, man or wife, they go down there [to
Washington.] And they end up in the beautiful halls of Congress. And
they say, Darling, weve arrived. Look at the ceilings. Look at these
angels. Look at this beautiful look at these columns. And all of a
sudden, they go from this hard-line person thats going to fight for us, to
an automatic vote. Something happens. Maybe its the water, but
something happens. And were going to change that. And, Tony, just to
finish. So we have a very depleted military. We are going to bring our
military back to full strength. We are going to its the cheapest thing
we can do, by the way. Its the cheapest thing we can do. And its jobs!
And its also jobs.
You know we make modern equipment. We sell modern equipment to
other countries, and yet we have old stuff. We give modern equipment to
our allies in the Middle East, and we dont even know who our allies are.
They have better Humvees. You know the stories: 2,300 Humvees
[captured by ISIS.] We have many, many warriors that have lost their
legs and arms and everything else. Theyve been in a truck and it didnt
have the armor. And they drive down a road and they get wiped out. And
we give them to our allies. And then a bullet is shot in the air, and our
allies run, and the enemy take over the equipment: 2,300 [Humvees
captured by ISIS.] A friend of mine has a son who has spent a lot of time

in Iraq and the environment. And I said, What do you think? He says,
Its so sad because the enemy has better equipment than we do. And
its all our equipment. Its our equipment! They take it after our people
[flee.] Theyre not our people. We dont know who they are. We give it to
the rebels; the rebels turn out to be worse than the ones that were
trying to get out of [there].
So we have people that dont know what theyre doing. But we have to
build up our military, etc. And we are going to let the generals make a
real decision. Because you have political generals in there. You have
generals making decisions that they dont believe in. And I want the
generals without politics. We want the generals. We have to have the
greatest fighting force in the world, whatever that may be. And we have
to have the generals make these decisions, and the leaders the
military leaders make these decisions without influencing, without
people calling, saying, Do this or do that. Because there are difficulties.
But I just want the greatest fighting force in the world. And I never want
to have to use it. I want to have it so that when people look at us, they
say, OK, were not going to play games. OK? Thats the way I feel.
Thank you.
Kelly Shackelford (president and CEO of First Liberty Institute
law firm): I lead a group called First Liberty Institute. Its the largest
legal organization in the country that all we do is religious freedom. And
so, the Coach Kennedy case I just want to start out by saying thank
you. Not only for what you said today, but for what you said on
Twitter when that first became public. [The tweet: Support Coach
Kennedy and his right, together with his young players, to pray on the
football field. Liberty Institute just suspended him!]
It was clear that your natural instinct was to stand with the coach. So
when I hear things like what Tony mentioned, with the 33-year veteran
that we had to launch that lawsuit this week, it just means a lot when
you do what you did in speaking out, so thank you.
Trump: I got in trouble for that. Honestly, the world came down on me.
That was another one. And why should it? Why should it? We should
have the power. We should have the power. [Applause]

Shackelford: This is a two-part question on religious liberty. The first is

what you mentioned, that the next president is going to appoint at least
three Supreme Court justices, probably hundreds of federal judges
these are life appointments. What process or what people are you going
to rely on so you can assure people here to know youre gonna get really
good justices? And secondly, probably the key issue right now in religious
liberty is the attempt to use gay rights to trump religious freedom. So a
baker, like the couple thats a Christian baker in Oregon, because they
couldnt do a gay wedding cake, theyve been prosecuted by the state,
theyre bankrupt, theyve been fined $135,000 and told by the judge that
they need to be, quote, rehabilitated. Have you thought through yet, or
do you know yet, where youre going to stand? I know you may need
time on some of these issues. But I know this is something that would be
very important to the people in this room.
Trump: So, on the judges: The Federalist Society is the gold standard on
judges, are you happy with that? I think, right? Also Heritage
[Foundation], Jim is fantastic. Jim DeMint and the Heritage [Foundation]
is I think theyre doing a great job. And theyve done it also. Plus,
were going to probably put four or five additional [judges on the list] as
Ive said before. And were going do that. Were going to do that very
quickly. And frankly, the decision that youre looking at is ultimately
going to be a court decision. And the people that go on the court over
the next period of time are going to have a lot to do with that decision.
Because right now, that decision does not look and I know where you
stand on it and that decision is not looking very good for you. And by
the way, if you are pro-life, its not going to be very good for pro-life right
now. And if Hillary gets in, honestly, Mike, if she picks two more judges
not three, four or five pro-life is a whole different story.
Your question is a whole different story. Because ultimately, the court is
going to decide that question. Theyre going to decide that answer. And I
will say this and Ive said before: Im putting pro-life judges on. The
justices that Ive put on, and you can look at their names and we have
them posted, but the justices, I have gotten tremendous, rave views
from the people that weve picked. Eleven, weve picked 11 so far. And
well pick a few more and theyll be very similar. Ive gotten tremendous

reviews. The alternative is the opposite. There wont be any pro-life

judges put on there. They will be all pro-choice. They will be all, 100
percent.
Huckabee: Just to add, I think the Second Amendment is gonna be
gone. These are issues that should be decided by the American people
through the ballot box, not by a handful of rogue justices appointed for
life. [Applause] And I think we just want to know youre going to appoint
people who will respect the constitutional separation of powers and not
allow people to be appointed who would go and legislate from the
judicial branch. And I think you can give us some comfort that youre
going to appoint people who respect the Constitution rather than
completely ignore it.
Trump: Total respect for the Constitution. Im so glad you mentioned the
Second Amendment. Because the Second Amendment, like Christianity,
the Second Amendment is under siege. And you have right now a tied
court. And frankly, if one judge gets on, thats the end of the Second
Amendment certainly as you know it. And I say, and I say it in all
seriousness: Hillary Clinton is going to abolish the Second Amendment if
she becomes president. She will abolish, so youre not going to have
protection. Youre not going to have protection. Youre not going to be
able to protect yourself. Some of the ideas they have are unbelievable
and not what our Founders wanted or had in mind. So the Second
Amendment is totally under siege and were going to protect the Second
Amendment.
You know the NRA endorsed me, it was the earliest endorsement that
theyve ever given. I have great respect for the NRA. And I think thats an
important thing. But when we get down to the Supreme Court, youre
talking about religious liberty, freedom. Youre talking about all of the
things that you asked about. And your questions great. But you know
ultimately, its the courts that are going to decide. And if its my judges,
you know how theyre going to decide. And if its her judges, you also
know how theyre going to decide. This is such an important election.
And I say to you folks, because you have such power, such influence.
Unfortunately the government has weeded it away from you pretty
strongly. But youre going to get it back. Remember this: If you ever add

up, the men and women here are the most important, powerful lobbyists.
Youre more powerful. Because you have men and women, you probably
have something like 75, 80 percent of the country believing. But you
dont use your power. You dont use your power.
And I actually said, How is it possible for Lyndon Johnson to get that
through? you call it an amendment or whatever you want to call it,
which took away this tremendous power. And honestly, people were
asleep at the wheel. Something happened. Were going to get it revoked.
[Applause] And were going to be incredible for evangelicals, for
Christianity and for other religions. You know, I talked about a temporary
ban on Muslims until we find out whats going on. And I was met with
tremendous rebuke and praise and OK, I was met with everything.
Some people thought [it was] great, some people didnt think so great.
But if I said something about Christianity, nobody would it would be a
whole different ballgame. We cant let that happen, folks. Its different,
all right?
You used to go to church, and you know, when Id go there Its much
different today. I know, as an example, the young people arent going as
much.
But we have to bring that back. We have to bring those values back. We
have to bring that spirit back. And in a way, its been taken way from you
by the federal government and by these horrendous things that have
been allowed in the past. But just remember this: You are the most
powerful group in this country. But you have to realize that. You have to
band together. You have to band together. If you dont band together,
youre really not powerful. You have a powerful church. I see it. I see
some of these incredible pastors and ministers and people that speak so
brilliantly. And I see it. But theyre great within their audience but then
outside they dont have it. You have to band together as a group. And if
you do that, you will bring it back like nothing has ever been brought
back. [Applause]
Huckabee: After what you said about church and going to church, I have
a feeling youre going to have a thousand invitations to show up at
church every Sunday. I know that you have stayed far longer than
originally was agreed to. We very much appreciate and respect the fact

that you didnt just give us the time, you gave us way beyond what you
were able to do. And Im sure your staff is upset because we have
extended your schedule.
Trump: Mike, theres nothing more important than this group of people
to me.
Huckabee: Well, I agree with you. [Applause] Theres 1,000 people
representing millions of people across America who understand that this
election is really not a hard lift. We have Hillary Clinton, and we have
you. You want to make America great again. You bring disruptive
leadership to this country that will challenge the institutions that have
virtually ruined the America that many of us know, grew up in,
appreciate and want to hand to our kids and grandkids. Hillary Clinton
will continue the spiraling downfall of this country, morally,
constitutionally, and even in her statecraft, which we cannot allow to
happen.
And what Ive sensed here is there are a lot of people who not only
appreciate the extraordinary amount of time and attention that youve
given to them, but more importantly its not to them, its to the people
they represent, to their kids, to their grandkids, to the future of America.
And as I said at the beginning, I dont think anybody came here today
expecting you to be able to answer a Bible quiz. That wasnt the whole
point. But what we heard today was a reminder why the people of this
country gave you more votes in the primary than they have any other
Republican candidate in the history of the process. God willing, you will
look back in your first year as president of the United States and you will
say that this event at the Marquis Marriott in New York was one of the
seminal events if not the seminal event and turning point in taking
you to the presidency. And on behalf of all these people I would like to
say thank you and God bless you for your time today. [Applause]
I do believe its what I said to Mr. Trump and I think you agree with me
this has truly been a seminal event in the process of electing our next
president, but more importantly in getting America back on track where
we can be proud of the America that we give to the next generation.
James Robison (founder of LIFE Outreach International): Let me
just say that Mr. Trump met graciously with some of the leaders that you

respect this morning, and they represented your heart, and not only your
heart but the heart of God to this man. And I can tell you with no
exaggeration, Donald Trump is greatly impressed with the Jesus he saw
in those men and women there and in you. He likes what he sees. And
with all my heart, I believe that his heart is open to receiving from the
Jesus that we love and worship. With all my heart. Ben, I want to thank
you and Candy, youve just been such a blessing. To others who stepped
out ahead of time and said, Dont write him off. I believe he wants to
hear Gods voice through you and I personally believe he wants to heed.
And I think if we walk together, in supernatural unity with the Father and
one another, I believe our nation is going to behold the glory of God in
his church and I think we will experience the next Great Awakening. Lets
join together in prayer for that.
Father, I want to thank you for these who are standing out here, and I
pray you would remove from any mind or heart any thought that we
might be the smaller, more insignificant parts of your body, when I know
for a fact it is highly likely the more significant kingdom impact are those
who are here in this room. But even beyond them it may be like that
beautiful lady we saw in the war room, praying for your power. God, it
may be someone who prayed the pastor thats here into this place. We
believe there are people praying all over this nation and we believe
around the world praying for this nation of ours thats experienced the
freedom that Christ came to give, that blesses everyone.
Father, please, not only help everyone praying with me in this room to
understand their vital importance in your mind, but to go back and tell
every member of their church family where they shepherd and where
they lead of their great, indescribable value and importance in making a
kingdom impact at this very dark moment in human history and the
history of our nation. Jesus, I want to say, what I pray is in the heart of
everyone here, we love you, Lord. We love you with all our heart, mind,
soul and strength. And we want to love our neighbor, including every
distinctly diverse and sometimes even out-of-sync member of your body.
We want to be an answer to your prayer, while we ask you to answer our
prayers.

Im asking you to help us together and it can only be together that

we can be the shining city set on a hill that cannot be hid. Im asking you
to put it in the heart of every person in this room, and yes, on Donald
Trump and his family. We want to be an answer to your prayer. We want
to see your prayer in John 17 answered in our day, so that when you
come back in glory you will be coming for a church already adorned in
your glory, and this world will know in fact if they think they are rejecting
Christ they will at least know what he looks like. They will know who
theyre rejecting and who theyre accepting, because the transforming
power of your life dwelling in us and the one you sent, just like you, to
live in us, will be finally in control of the body you birthed. To you be the
honor and glory forever and ever. And were asking you to let us witness
and be a part of the next great spiritual awakening. In Jesus name,
amen.
Correction: The start of the transcript initially identified the first
speaker as Ralph Reed, founder of the Faith and Freedom Coalition. The
speaker is not identified in the audio.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/transcript-donald-trumps-closed-doormeeting-with-evangelical-leaders-195810824.html