Former president and current Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has been campaigning to further solidify support among Catholics, warning that the faith is being targeted by the federal government.
President Trump posted a message on his social media account, Truth Social, on Wednesday in support of Vice President Kamala Harris’ recent campaign on behalf of Catholic voters.
“A bunch of Catholics have launched a massive political campaign against crazy Kamala Harris. Finally! Catholics are literally being persecuted by this crank. Just ask the Knights of Columbus,” Trump wrote.
Catholic Viral Leader: Christians must not “weaken their nerve” before the spectacle of the Olympic opening
Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump formally signed papers accepting the nomination on the final day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
“They say she is the most anti-Catholic person to ever run for high office in the United States,” the former president continued. “This esteemed group wants all Catholics to vote against Kamala, and they’re 100 percent right.”
Trump was referring to the multimillion-dollar campaign launched by CatholicVote, the largest Catholic political action group in the United States.
The group recently launched a multimillion-dollar campaign. Catholic Battleground States They are trying to block Harris’ bid for the White House.
The Catholic Vote broadly endorsed Trump through the social media platform X, thanking the former president for “bringing attention to our campaign.”
“We are proud to expose Kamala’s vile hatred of Catholics,” the Catholic Vote wrote. “To combat religious bigotry, we need a president who is unapologetically open to exposing this hatred.”
Priest who gave blessing at Trump rally warns against ‘people trying to shoot’ ex-president
Vice President Kamala Harris spoke at a campaign rally in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
Shortly thereafter, Trump issued a more explicit endorsement, specifically naming the Catholic boat and clarifying his remarks about the Knights of Columbus.
“CatholicVote.org is doing a great job of getting voters to the polls. All Catholics should join this great effort! Crazy Kamala Harris is anti-Catholic,” Trump wrote late Tuesday. “She attacked a judicial nominee because she is a member of the highly respected Knights of Columbus! There should never be a religious test to serve our country. We believe in God!”
In 2018, during questioning, Senator Harris criticized then-federal judge nominee Brian Buescher for his membership in the Knights of Columbus. In her opening written questioning of Buescher, then-Senator Harris called the Knights of Columbus “an all-male organization, primarily comprised of Catholic men, led by Carl Anderson.”
Harris asked Buescher, “When you joined, did you know that the Knights of Columbus opposed a woman’s right to choose? Do you agree with Carl Anderson when he asserts that abortion is ‘the mass murder of innocent people’? Did you know when you joined that the Knights of Columbus opposed same-sex marriage?”
In earlier comments to Fox News, Harris campaign spokesman James Singer said Monday, “Vice President Harris is proud to work with only the second Catholic president in history. Catholic voters are not defined by a single partisan organization, but by their values, community, faith in one another and love of country. Kamala Harris will fight every day for their vote.”
Biden “doesn’t understand the Catholic faith,” the bishop said. “I’m not mad at him, I just think he’s stupid.”
Around the pews of the Roman Catholic church are statues of St. Francis of Assisi and the Stations of the Cross. (Courtesy of iStock user Stephen Barnes)
The Knights of Columbus was founded in 1882 by Father Michael McGivney with the purpose of “charitable work” to help widows, orphans and the less fortunate.
“Kamala Harris embodies the most vile anti-Catholic menace of any presidential candidate in American history. She’s a far-left candidate,” Catholic Vote chairman Brian Burch said in a previous interview with Fox News. Her Records and Her Words It shows gross anti-Catholic bigotry and prejudice.”
Harris’ defenders point out that she is currently a close aide to President Biden, who frequently touts her Catholic identity at political rallies.
But the allegations have sparked a fierce debate among believers about how far one must deviate from Catholic ethics on issues such as abortion and marriage before breaking away from the church.
Click here to get the FOX News app
Senator J.D. Vance of Ohio and his wife, Usha Chirukuri Vance, watch as the vice presidential nominee is named on the first day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, Trump’s running mate, converted to Catholicism in 2019.
When Vance was selected as the vice presidential nominee at the Republican National Convention this month, many Democrats expressed concern about his pro-Catholic views on social issues.
Trump has aggressively targeted Catholics and Jews in the 2024 presidential election, generally portraying them as religious minorities whose interests are being undermined by the Biden administration.
The former president mentioned Jews at the end of his first statement addressing Catholics on Wednesday, writing: “P.S.: The Jews are being treated even worse, if that’s possible. They are cutting off Kamala and the Democrats like flies. And it’s about time!”
Fox News Digital’s Lauren Greene contributed to this report.
