Trump compares his opponents to enemies who fought the U.S. in World War 2 and wanted to ‘extinguish our way of life’

Former President Donald Trump compared his domestic political opponents to foreign enemies who fought against the US in World War II to “wipe out our way of life.”

In a fiery speech to the National Religious Broadcasters International Christian Media Convention in Nashville, he said the greatest threat to America comes from the “sick” people within, not from American adversaries abroad.

The 77-year-old Republican front-runner invoked the D-Day landings and one of America’s deadliest battles against Nazi Germany to say “we still need the hand of our Lord” to achieve victory today.

He spoke at one of his final events before Saturday’s GOP presidential primaries in South Carolina, where he has a commanding 30-point lead over rival Nikki Haley in most polls.

“1944 was the year of D-Day, the Battle of the Bulge and our country was at war with an enemy who wanted to eradicate our way of life forever,” he told religious broadcasters.

“But here at home, Christians knew that victory depended not only on the power of America’s weapons, but also on the faith in America’s hearts.

‘This time the biggest threat does not come from outside our country, I really believe that. It is the people from our country who are more dangerous. They are very sick people.

“To achieve victory in this battle, as in the battles of the past, we still need the hand of our Lord,” he added.

“We can handle China, we can handle Russia… but the people inside are very dangerous.”

About 19,000 American soldiers died in the Battle of the Bulge in Belgium’s Ardennes Forest in late and early 1945. Winston Churchill called the deadly offensive “undoubtedly the greatest American battle” of the war.

Trump also vowed to use a second term in the White House to defend Christian values, claiming the left wants to “tear down crosses.”

“Remember that every communist regime throughout history has tried to eradicate the churches, just as every fascist regime has tried to co-opt and control them. And in America, the radical left is trying to do both,” Trump told hundreds of cheering attendees at the National Religious Broadcasters International Christian Media Convention in Nashville.

“They want to tear down crosses where they can and cover them with social justice flags,” Trump added.

“But under the Trump administration, no one will touch the cross of Christ, I swear to you.”

It comes as leading conservatives have increasingly called on Trump to openly build his second term around Christian values ​​if he wins.

Trump is favored in a Republican primary where the once-crowded field has shrunk to just him and his former ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley.

The former president invoked the Battle of the Bulge (above) – the deadliest battle for US soldiers in World War II – in the fiery speech warning of the US threat from within

“Remember that every communist regime throughout history has tried to eradicate the churches, just as every fascist regime has tried to co-opt and control them. And in America, the radical left is trying to do both,” Trump told hundreds of attendees at the convention in Nashville

The Christian media event, where sponsors handed out free red-and-white baseball caps emblazoned with “Make America Pray Again,” was unusually friendly territory for the former president, whose speech often felt more like a rally than a sedate convention speech.

“The left is trying to shame Christians,” Trump said. “They are trying to shame us. I’m a very proud Christian.’

Trump repeatedly brought the crowd to its feet and repeatedly defended his record on abortion, including the appointment of three conservative Supreme Court justices who helped overturn the Roe v. Wade decision.

But he notably made no mention of the Alabama Supreme Court’s ruling, which prompted providers there to pause in vitro fertilization after judges ruled that frozen embryos could be considered children under state law.

President Joe Biden’s re-election campaign issued a blank statement on the issue late Thursday, ironically drawing attention to Trump’s lack of response to the “Alabama IVF ruling for which he is responsible.”

Instead, Trump used his speech to boast that he had used his first term to “do more to uphold religious freedom than any administration in history.”

“The enthusiasm for the November election is much greater than in 2016 or 2020,” he said. “Much bigger, it’s not even a competition.”

Tennessee will hold its primaries on Super Tuesday, March 5, when many states across the country vote and could put Trump on the cusp of claiming the Republican nomination.

Some religious leaders were initially hesitant to side with the multiply divorced Trump when he first ran for president in 2016, but they are now among his largely loyal “Make America Great Again” base.

That’s despite a personal history that has only become more checkered in recent years, including Trump’s indictment in New York in connection with hush money payments to a porn actress in an attempt to suppress an extramarital affair.

“When he came on the scene, people were skeptical,” said Troy Miller, president and CEO of National Religious Broadcasters.

“But I think as they’ve learned more and listened to Donald Trump’s speech, the one thing I hear from people all the time… is that they really feel like Donald Trump understands them, and that’s the biggest connection that people make is “This is a man in politics who understands us, who understands us, who doesn’t talk like he’s an elitist and talks down to us.”