Trump at the White House Easter Prayer Service: 'It Will Always Be In God We Trust' (April 16, 2025)

President Donald Trump marked Holy Week at the White House with a promise that America’s motto is not going anywhere. “America has put our trust in God. It will always be ‘In God We Trust.’ We will never change that,” Trump said at an Easter prayer service and dinner in the Blue Room on April 16, 2025, according to the transcript published by the American Presidency Project [1].

“And with God’s help, we can overcome every challenge, triumph over every evil, and restore the spirit of faith in the United States for generations to come,” he said [1].

The video above shows Trump at the White House Easter prayer service and dinner on April 16, 2025. Quotes are from the American Presidency Project, the White House and Fox News [1][2][3][4][5].

”He Is Risen”

Trump welcomed his guests to the White House “in the middle of Holy Week as we remember two of the most monumental events in all of history: the death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” [1]

“Nearly 2,000 years ago, during this sacred week, the living Son of God entered Jerusalem in triumph,” Trump said. “For our sake, He gave up his life.” [1]

He quoted the late Rev. Billy Graham: “God proved his love on the cross.” [1]

“Three days later, Christ’s followers found the empty tomb. Jesus had defeated darkness and death and promised new life to all of humankind. And that’s what we celebrate each year at Easter as we joyfully proclaim on Sunday, ‘He is risen,’” Trump said [1].

“The death and resurrection of Jesus are the essence of the Christian faith,” he said [1].

“The miracles of Holy Week set in motion a transformation in human existence,” Trump said [1].

”To Watch Your Father”

Trump told the Rev. Franklin Graham about seeing his father preach. “I went to Yankee Stadium with my father many years ago to watch your father. And you think we have big crowds today?” Trump said, to laughter. “It was some crowd. Never forget it.” [1]

“Your father would be very proud of you, by the way. Incredible job you’ve done,” Trump told Graham [1].

”Anti-Christian Bias”

“We’re standing up for a persecuted Christian and so many Christians that have been persecuted all over the world—it’s so horrible, what’s happened—and defending religious liberty,” Trump said [1].

“I proudly created the White House Faith Office,” Trump said, along with a new Justice Department “Task Force To Eradicate Anti-Christian Bias.” [1]

“And there is anti-Christian—you don’t hear about that very much, but there is anti-Christian bias,” he said [1].

”A Whole New Spirit”

“And I think there’s a whole new spirit in our country, and I think there’s a whole new respect for our country,” Trump said [1].

“I think it was a big day,” Trump said of Election Day. He said he hopes it “is going to go down as one of the most important days in the history of our country: November 5.” [1]

“We’re restoring our prosperity, securing our borders. We’re rebuilding the U.S. military,” he said [1].

“We’re stopping the radical indoctrination in our schools and supporting school choice, and we’re going to be moving our Education Department and various educational departments down to the States, where they belong,” Trump said [1].

”It Will Not Happen”

On the national motto, Trump warned of efforts to drop it. “You know there’s a movement to change it? It will not happen. We won’t let that happen,” he said [1].

He joked about Pastor Robert Jeffress of First Baptist Church Dallas. “Look at him. He’s getting angrier and angrier,” Trump said, to laughter. “We can get angry too, can’t we?” [1]

He also honored “angel mom” Patty Morin, whose daughter Rachel was killed in Maryland in 2023 [1].

“But the support I’ve had from Evangelicals, Christians, and—and everybody—people of faith, really—has been incredible,” Trump said [1].

“This is really, I hope, going to be one of the great Easters ever, because we have something going that I don’t think this country has seen in 100 years,” Trump said [1].

“So, once again, let me wish you all a very joyful and blessed Easter,” he said [1].

By the Numbers

2,000 years: since “the living Son of God entered Jerusalem in triumph,” per Trump [1].
3 days: from the cross to “the empty tomb,” per Trump [1].
88: Pope Francis’ age when he died, days later, per Fox News [3].

What Happened Next

Vance met the pope on Easter Sunday. “This morning, Vice President JD Vance met with His Holiness Pope Francis at the Vatican. The Vice President expressed his gratitude to Pope Francis for inviting him to meet on Easter Sunday,” the vice president’s office said in a readout on April 20, 2025 [2].

Pope Francis “was 88 years old when he died on April 21,” Fox News reported. Vance “visited the pope on the eve of his death.” [3]

That day, Trump ordered flags flown at half-staff “as a mark of respect for the memory of His Holiness Pope Francis.” [4]

A commission for religious liberty. On May 1, 2025, Trump signed an order creating the Religious Liberty Commission. “It shall be the policy of the executive branch to vigorously enforce the historic and robust protections for religious liberty enshrined in Federal law,” the order says [5].

For Patty Morin at the White House podium that same day, see HYGO News’ page on April 16, 2025. For the Religious Liberty Commission, see the page on May 1, 2025.