Trump claimed no leader should question a person’s religion, but has questioned many people’s religious beliefs himself
Summary:
Flip:
Trump has a long history of questioning people’s religion — oftentimes political rivals. A few examples below –
In 2015, when running against Ben Carson, Trump appeared to question his religion stating:
“I’m Presbyterian. Boy, that’s down the middle of the road, folks, in all fairness,” Trump told voters in Florida. “I mean, Seventh-day Adventist, I don’t know about. I just don’t know about.”
In 2016, when running against Ted Cruz, Trump questioned his religion stating:
“Just remember this,” Trump said, “in all fairness, to the best of my knowledge, not too many evangelicals come out of Cuba, okay?”
In 2016, when running against Clinton, Trump questioned her religion while speaking to a group of evangelicals stating:
“We don’t know anything about Hillary in terms of religion.”
“Now, she’s been in the public eye for years and years, and yet there’s no — there’s nothing out there,” Trump said. “There’s like nothing out there. It’s going to be an extension of Obama but it’s going to be worse, because with Obama you had your guard up. With Hillary you don’t, and it’s going to be worse.”
Trump questioned Obama’s religion on several occasions, often insinuating that he was actually a Muslim. For example, in 2016, he made this tweet:
I wonder if President Obama would have attended the funeral of Justice Scalia if it were held in a Mosque? Very sad that he did not go!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 20, 2016
Flop:
Once his own religiosity was questioned, Trump took a different stance on questioning people’s religion.
In 2015, after Pope Francis suggested Trump’s actions weren’t aligned with Christianity, Trump released a statement stating: “No leader, especially a religious leader, should have the right to question another man’s religion or faith.”