On Feb. 5, the 74th annual National Prayer Breakfast was held in a ballroom at the Washington Hilton Hotel, with President Donald Trump as the keynote speaker. On Feb. 4, 2016, the 64th National Prayer Breakfast was held at the same hotel, with President Barack Obama as the keynoter. The differences in the two events and their speakers are more about substance than style.
The most recent occasion seemed more like a Christian Nationalist Breakfast.
Andrew Whitehead, a Baylor-trained sociology professor, identifies Christian nationalism as “a cultural framework that idealizes and advocates for a fusion of a particular expression of Christianity with American civic life.”
Robert Sellers
The official White House announcement of the 2026 gathering featured Trump’s voice reading a script that couches praise for his administration in the language of religious devotion:
America has always been a nation founded by people of faith, strengthened by the power of prayer and united by four simple but very beautiful words: In. God. We. Trust. Our light is now shining over the world because, here in America, we are once again a nation that trusts in the providence of Almighty God. And so, together, we will make America stronger and prouder, safer, freer, greater and more faithful to our God than ever before.
At the breakfast, the president was introduced by Paula White, his longtime friend and senior religious adviser. She recognized him as “the GOAT,” the Greatest of All Time — “the greatest champion of faith that we have ever had in the executive branch.”
As Trump began his 107-minute speech, he wondered aloud whether he would “qualify” to go to heaven: “I don’t think there’s a thing I can do, but all of these good things I’m doing, including for religion — you know, religion’s back now, hotter than ever. … I mean, I’m not a perfect candidate, but I’ve done a hell of a lot of good for perfect people, that’s for sure.”
“Religion’s back now, hotter than ever. … I mean, I’m not a perfect candidate, but I’ve done a hell of a lot of good for perfect people, that’s for sure.”
He said Paula White was correct to call him the GOAT, as he had indeed done more for religion than any other president. Democrats, he insisted, are against religion, questioning — three times during the speech — how any persons of faith could vote for a Democrat.
Trump singled out Pete Hegseth and Pam Bondi for praise, perhaps because each has been criticized for their job performance. More surprisingly, he recognized Nayib Bukele, the president of El Salvador, seated on the dais, calling him one of his favorite people and claiming he operates many prisons where prisoners are treated very humanely. Pulling a number out of thin air, Trump suggested his administration has captured 11,888 murderers and many are in Bukele’s prisons.
He bragged about the fierceness of his military: “We knocked the hell out of ISIS the other day in Nigeria because they were killing Christians. And I said, ‘You can’t do that. When Christians come under attack, they know they are going to be attacked violently and viciously by President Trump.’”
Trump said he has rebuilt the military after it became one of the worst in history under “Sleepy, or Crooked, Joe Biden.” U.S. military strength was recently proved by B-2 bombers in Iran and America’s operation in Venezuela, he said. In fact, 50 million barrels of oil are currently floating to Houston.
He bragged that his bringing religion back to the country has caused a surge in church attendance, the sale of more Bibles in 2025 than any other year in history, and the 30%, 50% or even 70% increase in conversions some churches are seeing. Of course, none of this is true.
President Barack Obama delivers remarks at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C., February 4, 2016. (Photo by Pool/Sipa USA via AP Images)
Trump’s rambling remarks differed radically from the final Prayer Breakfast speech of his predecessor nemesis — the one he loves to call “Barack HUSSEIN Obama,” his tone of derision emphasizing the common Arabic boys’ name meaning “good” or “handsome.”
Obama began his 32-minute speech with these words:
Giving all praise and honor to our God for bringing us together this morning. … On this occasion, I always enjoy reflecting on a piece of Scripture that’s been meaningful to me or otherwise sustained me throughout the year. And lately, I’ve been thinking and praying on a verse from 2 Timothy: “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind.
What followed was a focused consideration of the text and its relevance for his own life and for Americans who may be fearful in our often chaotic, dangerous times.
Two stories illustrated the president’s comments about facing fear through the power of faith. One story concerned American soldiers in World War II captured by Nazi forces. In the prison camp, when Jewish POWS were ordered to identify themselves, Roddie Edmonds, a Christian sergeant from Tennessee, instructed all POWS to stand together and say they were Jews. Even when threatened with his own death, Edmonds repeated: “We are all Jews.” Amazingly, the Komendant backed down and the Jewish soldiers were saved.
The other anecdote was about a Chicago Muslim — the leader of a nonprofit advocating for poor neighborhoods. One day, in a city park with his three young children, Rami Nashashibi heard the call to prayer. He was hesitant to assume the posture of prayer, fearing he might bring criticism on himself and his children. But when his young daughter asked why he wasn’t praying, he put down his prayer rug and prostrated himself, hoping to teach his children an important lesson about facing fear in the strength of God.
The pinnacle of Trump’s speech, on the other hand, was a bit of political theater, announcing: “On May 17, 2026, we are inviting Americans from all across the country to come together on our National Mall to pray and to give thanks. We are going to rededicate America as one nation under God.”
In contrast, Obama concluded his speech by confessing:
Those two stories — they give me courage and they give me hope, and they instruct me in my own Christian faith. I can’t imagine a moment in which that young American sergeant expressed his Christianity more profoundly than when, confronted by his own death, he said, “We are all Jews.” … I can’t imagine a better expression of the peaceful spirit of Islam than when a Muslim father, filled with fear, (did the difficult thing) to teach his children what God demands. … I pray that by (God’s) grace, we all find the courage to set such examples in our own lives.”
I believe Obama approached the National Prayer Breakfast of 2016 as an authentic believer, expressing gratitude, humility, insight and sensitivity to the religious diversity of our nation’s people. Trump, on the other hand, seemed to stand before the breakfast crowd to luxuriate in their fawning praise, brag about his accomplishments, criticize political enemies and interrupt his stream-of-consciousness reflections only occasionally to reference God or prayer.
The differences between a National Prayer Breakfast and a Christian Nationalist Breakfast are stark. These two events in our nation’s capital, and the remarks of these two very different presidents, couldn’t be more dissimilar.
Rob Sellers is professor of theology and missions emeritus at Hardin-Simmons University’s Logsdon Seminary in Abilene, Texas. He is a past chair of the board of the Parliament of the World’s Religions in Chicago. He and his wife, Janie, served a quarter century as missionary teachers in Indonesia. They have two children and five grandchildren.