On Wednesday’s “The Briefing,” Jen Psaki highlighted a new call to action from hundreds of Christian leaders, after the group released an Ash Wednesday letter urging Christians in America to stand up to the Trump administration.
In the statement, nearly 400 reverends, bishops and theologians argued that Donald Trump’s policies — including his immigration crackdown and his attacks on diversity — are pushing the United States toward “authoritarian and imperial rule.”
The group also condemned the White House for promoting a “Christian faith corrupted by the heretical ideology of white Christian nationalism.”
“There have been so many examples of exactly that during the Trump administration,” Psaki said after reading from the letter.
“Just yesterday, Trump’s secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, had a leader of the once fringe, but now growing Christian nationalist movement at the Pentagon for a monthly worship service,” she said.
Psaki was referring to Doug Wilson, a pastor who co-founded the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches. Speaking from a Pentagon auditorium, Wilson led a 15-minute sermon on Tuesday that was broadcast live throughout the building.
Wilson, a self-described Christian nationalist, has advocated for criminalizing same-sex relationships and repealing a woman’s right to vote.
“While the Trump administration embraces that view of Christianity — one where faith is wielded as a cudgel to subjugate perceived enemies — many Christian leaders of a different stripe are engaging in resistance and raising their faith as a call for compassion,” Psaki said.
The MS NOW host pointed to another example of a Christian leader taking a stand against the administration.
In Illinois, Cardinal Blase Cupich, archbishop of Chicago, presided over an outdoor Ash Wednesday mass and a community procession, which Psaki explained was done “in solidarity with the immigrant communities being ruthlessly targeted by the Trump administration.”
“God does not need papers to know who or where you are,” Cupich told attendees. “The world may look at your legal status, but God looks at your heart.”
“The push is coming from everywhere right now,” Psaki said, “and that’s what this moment is going to require.”
You can watch Psaki’s full commentary in the clip at the top of the page.
Allison Detzel is an editor/producer for MS NOW. She was previously a segment producer for “AYMAN” and “The Mehdi Hasan Show.”