Over the Christmas holiday, the Trump administration threw its weight against the U.S. Constitution in favor of Christian nationalist authoritarianism.
The Framers of the Constitution established the United States of America on the rule of law, rejecting any religious qualifications for office or religious legal doctrine. They recognized that the establishment of one religion over others attacked a fundamental human right—an unalienable right—of conscience. If lawmakers could destroy the right of freedom of conscience, they could destroy all other unalienable rights. Those in charge of government could throw representative government out the window and make themselves tyrants.
In the First Amendment to the Constitution, ratified in 1791 as one of the ten amendments that make up the Bill of Rights, the new Americans agreed that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”
To that, sometimes under pressure, the nation has held. It is central to what it means to be an American.
And yet, on December 25, 2025, a religious holiday for many Christians, the Trump administration attacked that American principle to claim the U.S. is a Christian nation. As Ashley Ahn of the New York Times chronicled, Secretary of State Marco Rubio posted : “The joyous message of Christmas is the hope of Eternal Life through Christ.” The Labor Department posted : “Joy to the World. Let Earth Receive Her King.”
On December 24, over a video of officials wishing Americans Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and Happy Holidays, the Department of Homeland Security posted : “Christ is Born !” Over another video featuring iconic Christmas movies and scenes made up almost exclusively of white Americans and including several images of President Donald J. Trump, DHS posted : “Merry Christmas, America. We are blessed to share a nation and a Savior.” On December 25, over a video of iconic American scenes with “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” playing, DHS posted : “Rejoice America, Christ is born !”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth posted : “Merry Christmas to all. Today we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. May His light bring peace, hope, and joy to you and your families.”
At 6 :46 on Christmas evening, Trump’s social media account posted : “Tonight, at my direction as Commander in Chief, the United States launched a powerful and deadly strike against ISIS Terrorist Scum in Northwest Nigeria, who have been targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians, at levels not seen for many years, and even Centuries ! I have previously warned these Terrorists that if they did not stop the slaughtering of Christians, there would be hell to pay, and tonight, there was. The Department of War executed numerous perfect strikes, as only the United States is capable of doing. Under my leadership, our Country will not allow Radical Islamic Terrorism to prosper. May God Bless our Military, and MERRY CHRISTMAS to all, including the dead Terrorists, of which there will be many more if their slaughter of Christians continues.”
As foreign policy journalist Anne Applebaum noted, rhetorically, “Not sure I understand why the Trump administration cares about Christians in Nigeria and not Christians in Ukraine.”
The Guardian explained on the 26th of December 2025, that for years now, the U.S. right wing has insisted that Islamist terrorist groups are persecuting Christians in Nigeria. Those claims motivate Trump’s political base, the people he is depending on to stick with him as the rest of the country turns away.
Earlier this year (2026) , President Donald Trump designated the West African nation a “country of particular concern” under the 1998 International Religious Freedom Act and warned he might go in “guns-a-blazing” if the Nigerian government didn’t stop what he claimed was the “killing of Christians.”
Nigerian officials have pushed back on the idea that Christians are suffering at the hands of extremist groups more than people of other faiths. Nigeria has no official religion : Muslims make up about 53% of the population and Christians 45%, with the rest of the country’s population tending to follow traditional African religions. Most analysts agree that the violence in Nigeria is complex, often rooted in competition for water or land but exacerbated by ethnic and religious differences. In the northwest, The Guardian explains, heavily armed criminal gangs kidnap both Muslims and Christians and raid both Christian and Muslim communities.
Nimi Princewill of CNN reported that Nigerian president Bola Tinubu had given Rubio the “go ahead” for the strikes, apparently to hit camps of militants, but Nigerian foreign minister Yusuf Tuggar said the operation was not about religion but about trying to ensure safety for Nigerian civilians.
Nonetheless, Trump supporters cheered the strikes. Far-right activist Laura Loomer posted : “I can’t think of a better way to celebrate Christmas than by avenging the death of Christians through the justified mass killing of Islamic terrorists. You’ve got to love it ! Death to all Islamic terrorists ! Thank you.” “Amazing Christmas present by [Trump] !” Representative Randy Fine (R-FL) posted. “With Muslim terrorists attacking Christians in Nigeria, Syria, and even Europe—simply for refusing to submit to Islam—the President is showing that we will no longer tolerate these barbarians.”
