Donald Trump, Rick Santorum to Speak at Faith & Freedom Coalition Conference
The Faith & Freedom Coalition has announced that real estate mogul Donald Trump will be speaking at the upcoming "Road to Majority" conference, a three-day conference in Washington, D.C., which will feature evangelical and conservative speakers in an attempt to educate Republicans on how to gain more votes in future elections.
Trump will be joining rising conservative stars such as Florida Senator Marco Rubio (unconfirmed), Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, among others, in speaking at the fourth annual conference, which will take place June 13 to 15 at the J.W. Marriott Hotel.
According to an advance press release provided to the U.S. New & World Report's Washington Whispers blog, the Faith & Freedom Coalition, which was founded by political activist Ralph Reed, decided to invite Trump to speak at the June event due to his business prowess.
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The Georgia-based Christian nonprofit reportedly chose Trump because he "has been successful in all his endeavors," and "we hope he will be equally successful in achieving his goals of returning our nation to an economic superpower," Faith & Freedom Coalition Executive Director Gary Marx reportedly told Washington Whispers in an advance press release.
Trump also tweeted about the upcoming conference on April 26, writing: "Looking forward to addressing Ralph Reed's Faith and Freedom Coalition's 'Road to Majority' conference on June 13th."
This is not the first time Trump has addressed the evangelical community. In September 2012, the American businessman delivered the convocation at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va., focusing his speech on politics and the importance of hard work for the graduating students in attendance.
Some in the Christian community previously criticized evangelical institutions, such as Liberty University, for allowing Trump, who is thrice divorced, to deliver a speech relating to their Christian cause.
Others have argued, however, that Trump serves as a role model for successful business endeavors in the U.S.
The president of The Trump Organization, who has spoken at the "Road to Majority" conference in previous years, will also be joining former Florida Governor Jeb Bush at the conference.
Bush, who is Catholic, said in a Faith & Freedom Coalition press release that he believes the conference is important for ensuring the future of America will be the best it can possibly be.
"Despite the challenges we face today, I am optimistic that America's best days lie ahead because we can do better," former Governor Bush said in a statement.
"The genius of America is that the common good is advanced by individual initiative, not centralized management by the government. If we stay true to that core principle we can tackle the challenges we face today, including strengthening our families and fixing our failing schools. The Faith & Freedom Coalition has long been an advocate for providing every child with access to a high-quality education. That is why I am so pleased to speak at this important event," Bush added.
According to the Faith & Freedom Coalition's webpage, the June conference will be attended by nearly 2,000 grassroots activists from across the country.
The purpose of the conference is to "to energize, train, and equip our top activists and chapter leaders on voter registration, voter education, get-out-the-vote, lobbying their legislature, dealing with the media, building a precinct organization, and utilizing social media to mobilize supporters," according to the Faith & Freedom Coalition website.
"We want them to leave this conference prepared to bring about a pro-family majority in Washington and in every state capital," the organization adds.
