Democratic strategist calls out religious summit: 'These Christian values voters have made a deal with the devil'

Democratic strategist Maria Cardona didn't mince words when discussing President Donald Trump's speech to the Values Voters Summit in Washington, DC.

In the address Friday, Trump claimed that people couldn't say Merry Christmas instead they say Happy New Year. The panel all had a good laugh and host Don Lemon noted that Christmas and New Year were completely different things.

"Thank God that the president addressed this, Don, because I know that this is what keeps every single American up at night," Cardona said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "This is a huge problem in the country. So, I'm glad the president is focusing on it."

Even Republican Margaret Hoover, who served in George W. Bush's White House, called the president a "moral compromise" to these Christians, who she said concluded Trump was "the lesser of two evils." She went on to explain, "the rest, they've decided, doesn't matter."

Cardona called issues like Christmas, and now somehow New Year's, "political crack" to the Trump base because "the audience that he was speaking to today eats it up." What she found to be "so ironic" was that it isn't only a moral compromise, "these Christian values voters have made a deal with the devil."

She quoted the president saying during the 2016 that he has never once asked God for forgiveness. Nor did Trump know what "that little white wafer thing was," referring to the Holy Communion cracker that symbolizes the body of Christ.

"There's a reason why presidents, when they're presidents, have never gone to this group," she continued. "This is a group that has been categorized by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a radical right hate group. They put out pamphlets today, Don, about how homosexuality is hazardous to your health. I mean, there is a reason why going to this group does nothing to really focus on the issues that we're facing today, which is the divisions of this country. The way that this president likes to divide us instead of unite us."

Watch the full discussion below:

Democratic strategist calls out Values Voters...by sarahburris