Former President Trump drummed up a huge rally of conservative and religious voters on Saturday, just days before what is expected to be an epic head-to-head showdown with President Biden in the first 2024 presidential debate.
More than a thousand diverse attendees of the Faith and Freedom Coalition’s annual “Path to the Majority” conference gathered in a ballroom at the Washington Hilton to listen to the former president, who was quick to address the looming conflict.
“No one’s going to watch the debate on Thursday night, is they?” Trump said, drawing laughter from the audience.
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The president spent part of his opening remarks urging Christians to get out and vote in November, joking that “Christians don’t vote that much. Four years from now, you don’t have to vote, but this time, you have to vote.”
Trump spoke about a number of issues important to voters of faith, including late-term abortion and his administration’s move to move the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
“Never again will the federal government target Americans of faith,” Trump said, referring to the crackdown on gatherings during the COVID-19 pandemic.
He also lamented that religion is “becoming less and less important” across the country, and blamed its decline for the crime and other problems the country faces.
The Democratic Senate candidate who accused his opponent of denialism has a history of questioning the results of elections.
Faith and Freedom Coalition President Ralph Reed speaks at the 2024 Path to Majority Conference in Washington, DC on June 22, 2024. (Chris Kleponis/AFP)
The Road to Majority Conference is hosted annually by F&F, a major grassroots Christian organization with over 3 million members across the U.S. The conference is known as the largest public policy gathering of conservative Christian activists in the United States, focusing on the policy issues that matter most to voters of faith ahead of the election. 2024 Election.
Republican Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin spoke before Trump, calling for the former president to return to the White House and to strengthen the Republican majority in Congress.
The pair made their first appearance together earlier this month, shortly after polls showed Trump and Biden tied in heavily Democratic states, further fuelling rumors that Youngkin was being considered as a running mate.
Other notable speakers at the conference included South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Dr. Ben Carson, former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, who left the Democratic Party in 2022, South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham and Tennessee Sen. Bill Hagerty.
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Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin speaks at the Faith and Freedom Coalition’s Path to the Majority Policy Conference at the Washington Hilton on June 22, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)
Noem, Carson and Gabbard have also been mentioned as possible running mates for Trump, and the event marks the latest instance in which several potential vice presidential contenders could compete onstage for Trump’s endorsement ahead of the election. Republican National Convention This summer.
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Trump is scheduled to debate Biden on stage in Atlanta this Thursday, hosted by CNN, in the first time the two candidates have faced each other since the final debate before the 2020 presidential election.
The only time the two are expected to face each other in a debate is when ABC News hosts one in September ahead of the November general election.
Get the latest 2024 campaign updates, exclusive interviews and more on Fox News Digital’s Election Hub.
