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WASHINGTON, DC – Former President Trump drummed up a massive rally of conservative and religious voters on Saturday, just days before what is expected to be an epic head-to-head showdown with President Biden in the first 2024 presidential debate.
More than a thousand diverse attendees at the Faith and Freedom Coalition's annual “Path to the Majority” conference packed into a ballroom at the Washington Hilton to hear Trump, who was quick to mention the looming conflict.
“No one's going to watch the debate on Thursday night, is they?” Trump joked, drawing laughter from the crowd.
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Former president and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks on Saturday at the Faith and Freedom Coalition's “Path to the Majority” policy conference in Washington, DC. (REUTERS/Evelyn Hochstein)
He spent part of his opening remarks urging Christians to get out and vote in November.
“Christians don't vote that much. Four years from now, they don't have to vote, but this time, they have to vote,” he joked.
Trump spoke about a number of issues important to voters of faith, including late-term abortion and his administration's move to move the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
“Never again will the federal government target Americans of faith,” Trump said, referring to the crackdown on gatherings during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Democratic Senate candidate who accused his opponent of denialism has a history of questioning the results of elections.
Former President Trump spoke Saturday at the Faith & Freedom Coalition's annual conference, “Path to the Majority,” in Washington, D.C. (Fox News Digital/Brandon Gillespie)
He also lamented that religion is “becoming less and less important” across the country, and blamed its decline for the crime and other problems the country faces.
President Trump slammed the “radical left” for allegedly “stealing the election” in 2020 and vowed not to do the same thing this year.
“Because they're trying to take away my freedom, but I'll never let them take away yours,” Trump said, referring to the various charges against him.
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Former President Trump takes the stage to deliver the keynote address at the Faith & Freedom Coalition's Majority Policy Conference in Washington, D.C. on Saturday (Samuel Coram/Getty Images)
Trump appeared to receive the loudest applause when he spoke about illegal immigration, vowing to launch “the largest deportation campaign in American history” on his first day in office.
The Road to Majority Conference is hosted annually by the Faith and Freedom Coalition, a leading Christian grassroots organization with more than 3 million members across the United States.
The conference is known as the largest public policy gathering of conservative Christian activists in the United States and will focus on the policy issues that matter most to voters of faith ahead of the 2024 election.
Republican Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin spoke before Trump, calling for the former president to return to the White House and to strengthen the Republican majority in Congress.
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Faith and Freedom Coalition President Ralph Reed speaks at the Path to Majority 2024 Conference in Washington, DC on Saturday. (Chris Kleponis/AFP)
Their appearance together came shortly after polls showed Trump and Biden tied in heavily Democratic states earlier this month, further fuelling rumors that Youngkin was under consideration as a possible vice presidential candidate.
Other notable speakers at the conference included South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Dr. Ben Carson, former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, who left the Democratic Party in 2022, South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham and Tennessee Sen. Bill Hagerty.
Noem, Carson and Gabbard have all been mentioned as potential running mates for Trump, and the event marks the latest time that several reported vice presidential contenders could compete onstage for Trump's endorsement ahead of this summer's Republican National Convention.
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Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin speaks at the Faith and Freedom Coalition's Path to the Majority Policy Conference on Saturday. (Samuel Coram/Getty Images)
Trump is scheduled to debate Biden on stage in Atlanta this Thursday, hosted by CNN, in the first time the two candidates have faced each other since the final debate before the 2020 presidential election.
The only time the two are expected to face each other in a debate is when ABC News hosts one in September ahead of the November general election.
Get the latest 2024 campaign updates, exclusive interviews and more on Fox News Digital's Election Hub.