Eric Trump, former President Donald Trump’s second son, warned of an “all-out war on God” in the United States while appearing on Newsmax. Eric and his brother, Donald Jr., have been by their father’s side as he campaigns for a run at the White House for the third time.
The former president is the GOP frontrunner in the 2024 nomination race, winning the Iowa Republican caucus with 51 percent of voter support and then coming out on top in the New Hampshire primary. Trump was the projected winner in New Hampshire with 54.5 percent of the vote. As voters in New Hampshire were casting their primary ballots, Eric went on Newsmax’s “American Agenda,” where he shared his thoughts on the state of people’s First Amendment rights in America.
He said, “There’s an all-out war on family in this country. There’s an all-out war on God and religious freedom in this country. There’s certainly an all-out war on freedom of speech and [the] First Amendment in this nation.” Eric added, “[People] want to be able to worship God and speak freely and not be censored and not be deplatformed. And not have war waged against them and their quality of life every single day. People are sick and tired of the games, and they want to be able to live the American dream, and that’s what my father did.”
Eric is the executive vice president of his father’s real estate business, the Trump Organization. Religious freedom has been an argument used by conservatives who oppose social issues like abortion and LGBTQ+ rights. While liberals believe abortion is not only an individual right but an essential sector of female healthcare, conservatives have formed the argument that individual states should enact abortion bans to protect the lives of fetuses, posing it as a moral and religious issue. Some conservatives have called for a national ban on abortion after the Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade in 2022.
Conservatives have also opposed LGBTQ+ rights like same-sex marriage and accommodations and medical treatment for trans youth, as they believe the LGBTQ+ community stands in opposition to Christian and family values. One voting block that pushed Donald Trump to his Iowa victory was evangelical Christians. He improved by 35 points in the most evangelical counties since his first run for president in 2016.
South Carolina, the following primary stop, has a high Christian population. While Nikki Haley, Trump’s Republican opponent, may gain some leverage in the state, seeing as she was governor there from 2011 to 2017, Trump may win with the religious population. According to the Pew Research Center, 78 percent of adults in South Carolina are Christian, and 35 percent are evangelical protestant.