On May 17 thousands of President Donald Trump’s faithful supporters (and many right-wing Christians), assembled in Washington, D.C. for “Rededicate 250”— a celebration that some critics called a “taxpayer funded white Christian nationalist rally.”
But while some were celebrating the festivities, at least one conservative Christian voice was noticeably absent from the White House-backed “jubilee” to rededicate America to God and conservative Christian values.
“No Latter-day Saint or ‘Mormon’ leaders were on the stage addressing the thousands in attendance,” said Religion News Service writer Jana Riess. “To me, that absence speaks volumes — especially since the majority of Latter-day Saints in the United States are Republicans.”
It’s not that the LDS Church hasn’t preached many of the same ideals that were being lauded “from the MAGA pulpit,” said Riess.
“The idea that America is a special nation, uniquely chosen by God for a role in salvation history? We Mormons have embraced that for a long time now. It’s in the Book of Mormon, one of our primary works of Scripture. … So, when Trump-endorsed evangelical leaders on Sunday doubled down on America’s holy destiny, that message would have resonated with many U.S. Latter-day Saints.”
But not only were Latter-day Saint leaders not part of Sunday’s Rededicate 250 exhibition, Riess said the church’s actions in the past year “have signaled a widening divide between its priorities and those of the second Trump administration.”
Just this week, for example, the church made a $25 million donation to UNICEF to feed mothers and children around the world. UNICEF’s executive director, Catherine Russell, said the donation arrived “at a critical time,” particularly because after taking office in early 2025, the Trump administration gutted the USAID program, reversing funds Congress had already allocated for food and healthcare.
“The result has been devastating,” said Riess. “According to UCLA’s Fielding School of Public Health, the sudden withdrawal of lifesaving help is expected to result in more than 14 million additional deaths in the next four years, more than 4 million of them of children under age 5.”
Additionally, Riess said the church gave $1.58 billion to relief efforts around the world in 2025 and sent truckloads of donations to 250 different food banks from coast to coast
“This pointed emphasis on charitable giving feels like the politest and most quintessentially Mormon ‘eff you’ ever to the administration,” said Riess, adding that “in an age of chaotic cruelty, where public figures who call themselves Christian have actually claimed that empathy is a sin, the church keeps calling for, and practicing, compassion.”
