The FFRF Action Fund names Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins as its “Theocrat of the Week” for her Christian nationalist remarks at the recent Republican National Convention.
At the GOP gathering earlier this month, Rollins claimed that the Trump administration is a God-supported “group of warriors” dedicated to “bringing the light to a very dark world.” Rollins hosts and sponsors bible study sessions for President Trump’s cabinet, writing in 2023 that the sessions give her “the strength I need to endure the righteous fight for the soul of this nation.”
Rollins served in various capacities during the first Trump administration and was part of the group of Trump officials and advisers who launched the America First Policy Institute after Trump’s 2020 loss, acting as the institute’s president. The think tank promotes an America First public policy agenda and has significantly helped staff the second Trump administration. In its launch video, Rollins said that the institute was “working to save the soul of this country” and “continue the transformative changes that happened over [the first Trump administration].” The institute’s policy plans cover “restoring a nation under God.”
During an interview with right-wing television host Erick Stakelbeck at the GOP convention, Rollins again espoused her Christian nationalist rhetoric. She began, “I believe so strongly that God was not done with our country, that we are the greatest country in the history of the world. So building [the America First Policy Institute] to prepare for a second term of America First — whether it was President Trump or somebody else — is what we did. But now to be able to step up and meet the moment; I pray a lot that maybe we don’t feel like Moses, frankly, in Exodus, maybe we don’t feel like we’re fully prepared for this moment, but that God’s got us.”
“Walking into the West Wing every morning, I could feel God was with us,” Rollins continued, reflecting on Trump’s first term. “These jobs are hard. …The mainstream media is so dark. Big business, big government, big agriculture, big all of it is against you and so walking in that first term and seeing all of those wins in the first term, [it was a sign] that God was with us.”
She added, “I held bible studies in the first term, we prayed all the time. We built the America First Policy Institute on the biblical foundations of everything: It’s biblical to want a secure border. It’s biblical to put children first in their education. It’s biblical to put patients first in health care.”
“And now to be here the second time and to see this extraordinary amount of winning that we’ve been able to do, none of it is possible without God,” Rollins underscored. “We are a group of warriors to our core, gathering once a week to have a cabinet bible study and remind all of us what we’re fighting for.”
Rollins admitted that she uses her role in the Trump administration to further Christian nationalism, saying, “I do use this platform. I believe in making disciples of all the nations. I believe that God has blessed this country, and so ensuring that we are using this and bringing the light to a very dark world, that’s what this administration is about.” She said that she had been sued for “talking about Jesus too much,” but vowed that she’ll “never stop talking about Jesus” and claimed that America will be doomed if Republicans are not successful in November’s midterm elections.
“The stakes couldn’t be higher,” Rollins warned. “It’s an existential threat to the future of not just America, to the world. …We can keep fighting every day, but if those socialists, those Democrat socialists who believe in bigger government, who don’t believe in God. Their religion is a radical climate agenda. Wake up, America. This is real, and the darkness will overcome the light in this country if we’re not successful at the ballot box today and in the future.”
Rollins embraces some of the most overt Christian nationalist rhetoric in Trump’s circles, framing the administration as fighting a spiritual battle for the “soul” of our nation. This, serving as a mainstream tactic for getting Republican voters to the polls, is more concerning than ever. Rollins is clearly misusing her position in the presidential cabinet to promote her personal religious beliefs and further a Christian nationalist agenda that erodes our secular democracy.
FFRF Action Fund is a 501(c)(4) organization that develops and advocates for legislation, regulations and government programs to preserve the constitutional principle of separation between state and church. It also advocates for the rights and views of nonbelievers, endorses candidates for political office, and publicizes the views of elected officials concerning religious liberty issues.