Greg Laurie, Al Mohler, Tony Perkins hope assassination attempt will be 'turning point' in Trump's faith journey
Three prominent religious leaders are expressing hope that former President Donald Trump’s “assassination attempt” will mark a “turning point” in his faith journey as the former president himself has attributed his survival to divine intervention.
Following the attempted assassination of Trump at a rally near Butler, Pennsylvania, Saturday, Pastor Greg Laurie of the California-based megachurch Harvest Church appeared on Trinity Broadcasting Network Sunday, where he offered his initial reactions to Trump saying it was “God alone who prevented the unthinkable from happening.” Laurie responded to a question asking if the assassination attempt was a “life-changing event that could draw him into a more intimate relationship with God.”
“With President Trump publicly … acknowledging that it was God that stepped in, it’s very significant,” he said. “If he had just turned his head forward, he would probably be gone.”
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Laurie added, “I pray that this is a turning point with President Trump. I’ve been in the Oval Office with him on two occasions where we’ve prayed for him and I’ve been with him in a number of other settings.”
“Whenever someone says, ‘Can we pray for you, Mr. President?’ he always says, ‘Yes, please.’ He bows his head,” Laurie explained. “I pray that this would be a deepening of his faith in Jesus Christ as his Savior and Lord.”
During a conversation on the “Washington Watch with Tony Perkins” podcast earlier this week, both Family Research Council President Tony Perkins and Southern Baptist Theological Seminary President Albert Mohler offered similar sentiments.
“I was appreciative of his comments saying that he acknowledged God’s hand and protection,” Perkins remarked. “I’m hoping and praying this is a turning point for the president understanding and seeing God’s hand upon his life.”
Mohler agreed: “I’m praying the Lord uses this … even the blood on his ear, the blood that he had on his hand and looks at it and realizes how close he came to meeting his maker. I can only pray that will be a spiritually healthy turning point in the president’s life.”
Pastor Jack Hibbs of the California-based megachurch Calvary Chapel Chino Hills delivered a message directly to Trump, encouraging him to use the assassination attempt as an opportunity to improve his relationship with God during his sermon Sunday.
“Mr. President, if you’re watching this right now, your right ear was bloodied,” he noted. “It wasn’t your eye that got shot. It wasn’t your nose that got shot. It wasn’t your temple that was intended to be shot. Your ear was hit, but we would like and pledge and pray that you might bow your knee before the Lord Almighty.”
“This has been a warning by Almighty God that your ear might be sanctified. Will you hear this? Can you hear this? Listen to the Word of God. Stop talking about God and come to know God. It makes all the difference in the world.”
Laurie’s appearance on TBN wasn't the first time he's weighed in on the assassination attempt. “It’s time for us as a nation to pray, regardless of our political affiliation,” Laurie proclaimed in an X post over the weekend. “God spared Donald Trump today.”
Laurie picked up on this point during his interview on TBN. “Thank God that the Lord intervened and spared the president’s life,” he declared.
Mohler echoed the same line of thinking in his conversation with Perkins: “I attribute the preservation of the president’s life to the providence of God. I mean, when you just look at … the graphic and you see the blood right there on his ear, and you recognize how close that was to his head, you realize how close the nation came to disaster in the midst of a very contentious presidential election.”
During an appearance at the Republican National Convention this week, Dr. Ben Carson, who served as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development during the Trump administration, maintained that he had “no doubt that God lowered a shield of protection over President Trump.”
The assassination attempt against Trump, the Republican nominee for president, has led to calls to dial down the intense political rhetoric heading into the 2024 presidential election from both religious leaders as well as President Joe Biden, Trump’s expected Democrat rival. While Trump’s life was spared in the shooting at Saturday’s rally, rally attendee Corey Comperatore lost his life in the gunfire.
Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: ryan.foley@christianpost.com
