Lie #2: Trump has fought hard for religious freedom across the globe.
As a matter of rhetoric, Trump has a strong record in advancing religious freedom around the world. He has given numerous speeches championing religious liberty, hosted a Global Call to Protect Religious Freedom event, and two White House summits on the subject. He brought victims of global religious persecution to the White House. He appointed Sam Brownback as the ambassador for religious freedom in order to spread the word around the world. He pressured Turkey to release the imprisoned Christian pastor Andrew Brunson. So he tells his evangelical supporters, “I don’t think any president has taken it as seriously as me.”
But as a matter of policy, Trump has been little better than Barack Obama—and in some cases worse.
One of the most significant attacks on religious freedom in recent memory is happening right now in China, where the government has rounded up more than 1 million Muslims and put them in “re-education” camps. To fight the Uighur Muslims, the Chinese government has also destroyed at least two dozen Mosques and other religious sites.
Trump has done so little about this massive, ongoing assault that Republicans in Congress have joined with Democrats to force him to take action. What explains Trump’s caution? In the course of defending Trump for not mentioning the attack on the Uighurs during his pushes for international religious freedom, Sam Brownback explained: “I think he’s trying to get a trade deal, but is continuing to have these other issues move forward as well.”
