President Donald Trump welcomed dozens of pastors and Christian leaders to the White House on Wednesday night for a prayer-filled Easter celebration that blended reverence, gratitude, and unmistakable political undertones as the 2025 campaign season intensifies.
Hosted by the White House Faith Office, the Easter Prayer Dinner marked Trump’s most prominent religious engagement since his return to office—and he used it to full effect. Trump spoke at length about the biblical story of Easter and America’s spiritual foundations, drawing applause from a crowd that included some of the nation’s most prominent evangelical voices.
“Nearly 2,000 years ago, during this sacred week, the living Son of God entered Jerusalem in triumph,” Trump said in prepared remarks. “Soon after, the Savior of man who brought truth and light into the world was betrayed, arrested, tried, and crucified, nailed to the cross.”
Trump, known for weaving faith and patriotism in his speeches, tied the gospel message directly to the promise of renewal for the nation. “For our sake, He gave up His life,” he continued. “Three days later Christ-followers found the empty tomb. Jesus had defeated darkness and death and promised new life to all of humankind. That’s what we celebrate on Easter when we joyfully proclaim on Sunday: ‘He is Risen!’”
The president’s message wasn’t limited to scripture. In a Truth Social post earlier in the week recognizing the start of Holy Week, Trump declared, “America is a Nation of Believers. We need God, we want God and, with His help, we will make our Nation Stronger, Safer, Greater, more Prosperous, and more United than ever before.”
Attendees at Wednesday’s event included Rev. Franklin Graham, one of Trump’s most steadfast religious allies. Graham praised the president for his unapologetic Christian witness and his Easter proclamation. “I’m grateful for a president who recognizes the importance of Easter and boldly proclaims the resurrection of Jesus Christ,” Graham said following the event.
CBN News captured video of the evening’s most moving moment—a hushed dining room filled with bowed heads and solemn faces as a singer performed a gospel hymn. The camera panned to Trump, seated among the pastors, quietly reflecting during the performance.
Photos from the event showed Trump mingling with ministers, laying hands in prayer, and smiling as faith leaders shared scripture and stories. The dinner served both as a spiritual reset for a country still healing from political and cultural division—and as a statement of who this administration believes holds moral authority in America: not Washington elites, but the nation’s pastors and congregants.
Trump’s embrace of faith leaders during key national holidays is nothing new. But Wednesday’s Easter dinner took on new gravity following a year that saw two failed assassination attempts against him. In his inauguration speech back in January, Trump made clear that his survival was, in his words, “divine intervention.” He told the nation then, “I was saved by God to Make America Great Again.”
That sense of divine mission was echoed throughout the Easter dinner. “This country’s been through a lot, but we serve a risen Savior,” said one pastor in attendance, who asked not to be named. “President Trump knows the battle we’re in, and he’s not afraid to bring God into it.”
As the evening closed, guests joined hands in prayer—one of many such moments that felt less like a political event and more like a revival service.
With America approaching another critical election year, Trump is making clear that faith—and the faithful—will be at the center of his vision for the nation’s future. And judging by the crowd of pastors around him, they’re ready to go to battle with him once again.