By Oliver Willis ·
As part of his
presidential campaign, Donald Trump has made a frightening new attack on
multiple religions within the United States and many in the media haven’t even
noticed it yet.
Trump referenced the new, frightening vision he has for religion
in the country in a speech he
gave in Baltimore on Monday.
“We will be one people, under one God, saluting one American flag,” he said September 12 at a speech to the National Guard Association in Baltimore. Moments before, he claimed he’d be a “president for all Americans” in an effort to portray himself as more of a uniter than his rival, Democrat Hillary Clinton.
But the
inclusion of the word “one” is new. A review of transcripts suggests he debuted
it last Tuesday during a speech in Greenville, North Carolina, and has since
used it in campaign speeches in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Pensacola, Florida;
and Washington, D.C.
Based
on Trump’s claims that he is a Christian and the history of the Republican
Party, it would probably be safe to say that Trump’s “one God” is the Christian
God.
But in America, based on the First Amendment to the Constitution, the free
exercise of religion is enshrined in our customs.
Among those non-Christian religions
practiced in America are Judaism, Buddhism, Islam, Hindu, and many others.
There is also agnosticism and atheism, both also protected under the
Constitution.
Trump
has also demonstrated hostility towards one faith in particular – Islam. He has
promised to ban Muslim migration to the United States and has expressed
openness to using tracking devices on Muslims.
Connected
to this new attack, Trump recently spoke
at an event designated by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a hate group
conference.
Among the headliners at the Values Voter Summit was the Family
Research Council, who has compared being gay to drug use, and adultery and has
compared gay rights activists to terrorists.
Author Oliver
Willis was one
of the first political bloggers in the world (since 2000), and was among the
first bloggers to interview President Obama at the White House. I am on Twitter @owillis and write at OliverWillis.com