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WATERLOO, Iowa—Flanked by Christmas trees topped with red ballcaps bearing his “Make America Great Again” slogan, former President Donald Trump stepped into the Christmas spirit, but he sidestepped the just-released <a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/colorado-disqualifies-trump-from-appearing-on-primary-ballot-5547236?ea_src=frontpage&ea_med=lead-story-0-large-0">Colorado Supreme Court </a>decision to yank his name from the 2024 ballot on constitutional grounds.

Within a couple hours of that Dec. 19 decision, President Trump took the stage at the Waterloo Convention Center and welcomed about 1,000 supporters with a hearty “Merry Christmas.”

He then emphasized the holiday’s religious significance and proposed new steps to protect Christians and “other religious believers” from government persecution.

“Americans of faith are the soul of our country,” he declared at the event where he encouraged Iowans to go to their first-in-nation caucuses on Jan. 15 and vote for him.

The Republican frontrunner’s hourlong speech ended with no mention of the Colorado court decision. Afterward, several rally-goers told The Epoch Times they had heard about the ruling, but it seemed inconsequential to them.

Asked what he thought about the 4-3 decision, Kevin Briden, 64, of Waterloo, told The Epoch Times: “I think it’s idiotic.”

Mr. Briden says President Trump probably chose not to mention the Colorado ruling during his speech in Iowa because “I don’t think he’s concerned about it.”

In that same vein, Mr. Briden said: “It used to bother me–all of these lawsuits and indictments–but I don’t look at it that way anymore.”

“I think everything he is doing is setting a precedent within the courts…he can say, ‘They went after me for this, therefore I can go after them for this,” Mr. Briden said.

While some media outlets described the Colorado court decision as a “bombshell,” President Trump’s campaign said the ruling was a predictable, “completely flawed decision” from an “all-Democrat-appointed” court.

“We have full confidence that the U.S. Supreme Court will quickly rule in our favor and finally put an end to these unAmerican lawsuits,” Steven Cheung, Trump campaign spokesman, said in a prepared statement.

Mr. Cheung also called the case another example of election interference designed to derail President Trump’s campaign to beat his presumed 2024 opponent, Democrat President Joe Biden.

Mr. Briden agreed, saying that President Trump’s opponents are “going after him to try to destroy our hope, to discourage us from coming to a rally or voting for him.”

“But everything they’re doing is backfiring,” Mr. Briden said, noting that the former president’s popularity has only increased, as opinion polls consistently show.

Mr. Briden added, “Everything that is happening is showing how corrupt the courts are, and the people see it.”

The Colorado decision asserted that President Trump violated the 14th Amendment’s “insurrection clause” in connection with the protest at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

On that day, throngs came to hear President Trump speak in Washington, D.C., as Congress prepared to certify the results of the 2020 election. While many people remained peaceful, some protesters committed vandalism and fought with police.

President Trump maintains he won the election, although then-candidate Joe Biden was declared the winner. He reiterated that claim during his speech in Iowa.
<figure id="attachment_5550010" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 640px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-5550010">

Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign event in Waterloo, Iowa on Dec. 19, 2023. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

</figure>
However, he focused the first part of his talk on religion and Christmas, which Christians will celebrate in less than a week.

Under President Biden, “government has been weaponized against religion like never before—and also presidents, like never before,” he added wryly.

President Trump decried reports revealing that government agencies were “plotting to send spies into Catholic churches.”

“It’s all coming out,” he said, “just like in the Soviet Union from days gone by.”

“When I’m back in the White House, never again will our government be used to target Christians and other religious believers,” President Trump said as the audience cheered.

He vowed to create a new federal task force to ”investigate all forms of illegal discrimination, harassment and persecution against Christians in America.”

“I will defend religion,” he said, “and I will defend ‘In God We Trust,’” our national motto. Such phrases are meaningful to Americans, he said, adding, “When I was president, we brought back a beautiful phrase, ‘Merry Christmas.'” For years, people were encouraged to say “Happy Holidays” to avoid offending non-Christians.

President Trump pointed out that, at the National Christmas Tree-Lighting Ceremony on Nov. 30, President Biden “completely failed to even mention the birth of Jesus Christ.” The crowd chuckled when he added that leaving out Jesus Christ’s name is “hard to do if you celebrate Christmas.”

The word, “Jesus,” does not appear in the White House’s official<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2023/11/30/remarks-by-president-biden-at-the-national-christmas-tree-lighting-2/"> transcript </a>of President Biden’s remarks.

In contrast, President Trump said that, while he served as the nation’s top elected leader and celebrated Christmas, “it was my honor to publicly celebrate the true source of Christian joy, which is Jesus Christ.”
<figure id="attachment_5550014" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 640px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-5550014">

</figure>
In addition, during his tenure, President Trump said, “I stood up for religious liberty at home and all around the world,” which included supporting Israel and the Jewish people.

Mr. Briden, who wore a red “Make America Great Again” cap, said he is a Christian, and he noticed President Trump’s emphasis on Christian faith in this speech “more so than in past speeches.”

“It didn’t sound political; it sounded more from his heart,” Mr. Briden said. “I believe he will come back as a praying president, and this may be a sign of that tonight.”

President Trump and other Republican presidential hopefuls are expected to accelerate their push for Iowans’ votes after the Christmas and New Year’s holidays.

<em>From <a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/trump-vows-to-defend-religious-freedom-as-iowa-supporters-shrug-off-colorado-ruling-5549950">The Epoch Times</a></em>

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Janice Hisle reports on former President Donald Trump's campaign for the 2024 general election ballot and related issues. Before joining The Epoch Times, she worked for more than two decades as a reporter for newspapers in Ohio and authored several books. She is a graduate of Kent State University's journalism program. You can reach Janice at: janice.hisle@epochtimes.us

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Trump Vows to Defend Religious Freedom as Iowa Supporters Shrug Off Colorado Ruling