To his credit, President Trump has been willing to acknowledge one of those elephants in the room that his predecessors have always ignored: the global persecution of Christians.

As we recently saw, when speaking before the U.N. on September 22, 2026, Trump said:

The craven hypocrites of the Human Rights Council have little to say about the persecution of Christians. I mean, Christians are being persecuted all over the world. It’s not even believable. I never thought I’d say it, but it’s been happening for a long time.

Nor is this the first time he publicly cites this topic that virtually every other Western politician ignores.

For example, Trump is the only U.S. president to ever issue official statements on Global Coptic Day—and often in the context of highlighting the severe persecution Egypt’s Christians experience.

On June 1, 2025, he said:

Today, I join the Coptic Orthodox Christian community in observing Global Coptic Day… Tracing its roots to Saint Mark, the apostle of Jesus Christ and the evangelist who brought the Christian faith to Egypt in the first century, the Coptic Church has been a beacon of Christendom in Africa for nearly 2,000 years. 

The Coptic community has left an indelible mark on the hearts of millions of Christians — most evidently seen in their timeless contributions to Christian theology and culture.

This Global Coptic Day, we also pause to reflect upon the vicious and ongoing persecution of Coptic Orthodox Christians in Africa and across the Middle East. In 2015, 21 Coptic construction workers were brutally executed by ISIS terrorists in Libya. 

Like persecuted Christians all around the world, these heroic martyrs refused to renounce their faith. They exemplified sacrificial love and steadfast devotion to God, even in the face of certain death. The Copts’ persistence amid relentless persecution is a living testament to their unbreakable resolve and fearless dedication to spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

In 2020, he remarked on the “ongoing challenges facing the largest Christian group [Copts] in the Middle East,” and emphasized the need to “reaffirm our commitment to promoting and defending this core tenet of a free society.”

That year, he also called the treatment of Christians in the region “beyond disgraceful,” that they were being “treated horribly and very unfairly — it’s criminal.”

Perhaps most memorably, following the 2017 massacre of 28 Copts — including 10 children — by Islamic gunmen in Egypt, Trump stated:

This merciless slaughter of Christians in Egypt tears at our hearts and grieves our souls… America makes clear to its friends, allies, and partners that the treasured and historic Christian communities of the Middle East must be defended and protected. The bloodletting of Christians must end, and all who aid their killers must be punished.

Some may argue that Trump’s words are just that — words.

But words matter. And if you doubt that, consider how completely different the words of his predecessors—especially Obama’s—have been.