Former President Donald Trump dodged what he described as a “great question” on faith during a Fox News town hall held Tuesday in Iowa.
In a new video clip released Friday, a woman is seen asking the 2024 hopeful: “How has your faith grown since you decided in 2015 to run for president? And who has mentored you in your faith journey?”
Trump complimented the question before swerving away from a direct answer. He instead mentioned “heartache and turmoil,” quickly adding that he had a “wonderful life” before his career in politics but also saying he “couldn’t be more glad” with his choices now.
“I’ve made America great. We can do it again,” said Trump, who has previously boasted of “total support” from faith leaders in the state.
“But I’ve gotten to know, because of this, evangelicals. I know so many people and they feel so good about themselves and their family, and they base it on religion,” he said during the town hall.
Trump went on to shift focus to the Catholic faith, claiming that the FBI has made Catholics “the enemy” and questioned how they could vote for a Democrat like President Joe Biden.
“I’ve met some of the finest people that I wouldn’t have had the privilege of meeting if I weren’t president,” he said. “They’re religious leaders, and they really are incredible people.”
Twitter users poked fun at Trump’s rambling answer and asked why he didn’t quote from “Two Corinthians,” referring to a Bible-related gaffe he made in 2016 at the evangelical Liberty University.
At the time, Trump downplayed the mistake as a “small deal,” blaming the president of the Family Research Council for how he’d written notes on what Trump should say.
In the current White House race, Trump currently leads Ron DeSantis by over 30 percentage points in an average of national polls on GOP candidates, according to FiveThirtyEight.