President Donald Trump's niece called him out Thursday for invoking religion to justify his bombing campaign in Iran over the weekend.
"In his own way, he understands that mouthing platitudes about the Bible, a book he has never read, is enough to convince people who are already predisposed to be convinced, that he shares their beliefs and is God’s messenger—if an imperfect vessel for the message," Mary Trump wrote on her Substack.
In his speech following the bombing of three nuclear facilities in Iran, Trump said, "I want to just thank everybody, and in particular, God."
"I want to just say we love you, God, and we love our great military. Protect them. God bless the Middle East. God bless Israel. And God bless America. Thank you very much. Thank you," Trump said in the speech.
To Mary Trump, the speech was another example of her uncle using religion to justify an immoral act. During his first administration, Trump had peaceful protesters forcefully removed from Lafayette Park so he could take an awkward photo of himself holding a Bible in front of St. John's Episcopal Church. Mary Trump noted that her uncle was holding the Bible upside down in the photo.
"Donald and his allies use religion to justify everything they do, no matter how diabolical," Mary Trump wrote. "It is cynical, it is hypocritical, and quite frankly, it is a grotesque exploitation of the sincere faith of millions of Americans."