Thousands gather to hear Trump headline prayer meeting at National Mall

By VICTORIA CHURCHILL, US POLITICAL REPORTER Published: 06:39, 18 May 2026 | Updated: 06:44, 18 May 2026 President Donald Trump gave a virtual address to thousands of attendees on the National Mall in Washington for Freedom 250's Rededicate250 event on Sunday. The event organizers, however, appeared to have recycled a video President Donald Trump filmed back in April for an 'American Reads The Bible' event. Trump read a passage from 2 Chronicles 7:11-22, which includes a frequently cited verse on humility. '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,' verse 14 reads. Top Trump administration leaders including Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Pastor Paula White-Cain, the Senior Advisor to the White House Faith Office, all delivered video remarks at a prayer rally on the National Mall. Republican Senator Tim Scott addressed the crowd in person and noted that it was 'the power of prayer that fueled the civil rights movement.' House Republican Speaker Mike Johnson also spoke live at 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. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? 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