On Sunday, President Donald Trump delivered a virtual speech to a large audience gathered on the National Mall in Washington, as part of Freedom 250’s Rededicate250 celebration.
Interestingly, the footage used for Trump’s address appeared to be a repurposed video originally created for an ‘American Reads The Bible’ event back in April.
During his speech, Trump recited a passage from 2 Chronicles 7:11-22, highlighting a well-known verse that emphasizes humility.
The verse reads, “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”
Several key figures from the Trump administration contributed video messages at the prayer rally, including Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Pastor Paula White-Cain, who serves as the Senior Advisor to the White House Faith Office.
Republican Senator Tim Scott made a personal appearance, addressing the crowd and emphasizing that “the power of prayer fueled the civil rights movement.” House Republican Speaker Mike Johnson also delivered a live speech during the event.
Not all speakers were Evangelical or even Christian. One Rabbi addressed the crowd, as the growing seeds of antisemitism have been sown by a number of prominent political commentators on the American Right.
Rabbi Meir Soloveichik, an American Orthodox rabbi, academic, and writer, spoke about how the song God Bless America written by Irving Berlin, a Jewish immigrant, was first played on the radio the day after Kristallnacht, the Night of Broken Glass, during the Holocaust in WWII.
President Donald Trump speaks during a video message at the Rededicate 250: A National Jubilee of Prayer, Praise & Thanksgiving at the National Mall in Washington, DC, US, May 17, 2026.
An attendee holds an American flag over her head during ‘Rededicate 250: A National Jubilee of Prayer, Praise and Thanksgiving’ on the National Mall
Attendees during Rededicate 250: A National Jubilee of Prayer, Praise and Thanksgiving, on the National Mall, on May 17, 2026, in Washington, DC
‘Antisemitism is utterly un-American,’ Soloveichik also told the crowd to a smattering of applause earlier in the day.
Catholic leaders, including Archbishop Emeritus of the Archdiocese of New York and Former President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, spoke on Sunday, as did Bishops Robert Barron and Kelvin Cobaris.
Despite the variety of religious speakers, some critics called the Rededicate 250 event an effort to ‘hijack’ US history with a false, Christian nationalist narrative – one they say fuses American and Christian identities and threatens a Constitutional separation of church and state.
The daylong program was organized by a nonprofit called Freedom 250.
Their website describes Freedom 250 as a public-private partnership ‘leading the presidential programming for America’s 250th anniversary,’ which culminates with the anniversary of the Declaration of Independence on July 4.
The daylong program was organized by a nonprofit called Freedom 250
Attendees pray and celebrate during “Rededicate 250: A National Jubilee of Prayer, Praise and Thanksgiving” on the National Mall in Washington, DC, on May 17, 2026
Attendees during Rededicate 250: A National Jubilee of Prayer, Praise and Thanksgiving, on the National Mall, on May 17, 2026, in Washington, DC
Congressional Democrats have questioned the organization’s structure and finances, which they see as a Trump-controlled end run around a separate commission chartered by Congress a decade ago to prepare semiquincentennial events.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation, which advocates a strict separation of church and state, hopes to stage a demonstration elsewhere in Washington on the day of the rally.
‘This is the government putting on a Christian nationalist event,’ said Annie Laurie Gaylor, the foundation’s co-president. ‘Even if it is accepting private money for it, it´s still putting it on. It´s outrageous,’ Gaylor added.
