As many Christians gather to celebrate Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the Lenten liturgical season, President Trump released the most overtly Christian message by any president on any subject in modern history.

This Ash Wednesday, we join in prayer with the tens of millions of American Catholics and other Christians beginning the holy season of Lent—a time of spiritual anticipation of the passion, death, and Resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

During the Lenten season, Christians spend 40 days and 40 nights praying, fasting, and giving alms to deepen our faith and strengthen our belief in the Gospel.  Today, followers of Christ wear crosses of ash on their foreheads—a sacred reminder of our mortality and our enduring need for Christ’s infinite mercy and redeeming love.

As we solemnly contemplate Jesus Christ’s suffering and death on the cross this Lent, let us prepare our souls for the coming glory of the Easter miracle.

We offer you our best wishes for a prayerful and enriching Lenten season.  May Almighty God bless you, and may He continue to bless the United States of America.

If this is Christian Nationalism, sign me up.

Ash Wednesday's origins are in an edict by Pope Gregory the Great in 601 and its fixation in the liturgical calendar by Pope Urban II in 1091. It marks the beginning of the 40-day season of Lent that culminates in the Feast of Easter. Its roots extend back into the Old Testament, where wearing sackcloth and ashes was a sign of penance. Though most closely associated with the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Churches (though I have to admit the Orthodox calendar remains a mystery to me), it is also practiced by most of the mainline Protestant denominations. According to the Public Religion Research Institute, you could infer that about 42% of church-attending Christians observe the practice.

The invocation of the name of Jesus Christ has become a rarity in public announcements by officials at any level. Taking Christianity out of the context of the gray, meaningless morass of "Jesus was a great teacher" and moralistic therapeutic deism and talking about the Passion, Death, and Resurrection is unheard of in modern political rhetoric.

For instance, this is an example of a statement by that most devout though abortion-pimping and adulterous Catholic, Joe Biden:

Today, I join Christians across our country and around the world in observing Ash Wednesday. As we enter into the season of Lent, we know this moment of repentance, reflection, and renewal comes in the midst of a painful winter for our nation and the world.

On this Ash Wednesday and every day, we hold every family with an empty place at their table in our hearts. We pray for all those who have fallen on hard times and are worried about what morning will bring. Let us find strength in each other and faith that provides us purpose. And let us look with hope and anticipation toward Easter and brighter days ahead.

After 2021, Biden's public recognition was reduced to Twitter utterances in 2022 and 2023. By 2024, he'd forgotten it existed.

Barack Obama had a better record; he issued at least four statements, and they mostly look like this:

Today Michelle and I join our fellow Christians across the country and around the world in marking Ash Wednesday. Lent is a season of sacrifice and preparation, repentance and renewal. Through reflection on the teachings that guide us, we reaffirm our commitment to God and one another. And we remember those who are suffering, including those persecuted for their faith. We join millions in deepening our faith as we look toward the Easter celebration. 

Laudable, but some miss the point entirely and leave you wondering if whoever wrote it had the vaguest idea about the significance of the day:

Michelle and I join with Christians here and around the world in marking Ash Wednesday. This is a day of both reflection and joy, a time to ponder the meaning of repentance and restoration. As we enter Lent, we join millions in renewing our faith and remembering our commitment to love and serve one another.

I'm sorry, my dude. "Joy" is not part of Lent, and we're supposed to do more than "ponder" penance. That, as they say, is the reason for the season.

President Trump issued one Ash Wednesday statement during his first term:

Melania and I wish everyone observing Ash Wednesday a peaceful and prayerful day.

For Catholics and many other Christians, Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the Lenten season that concludes with the joyful celebration of Easter Sunday.  Today, millions of Christians will be marked on their foreheads with the sign of the cross.  The imposition of ashes is an invitation to spend time during Lent fasting, praying, and engaging in acts of charity.  This powerful and sacred tradition reminds us of our shared mortality, Christ’s saving love, and the need to repent and accept the Gospel more fully.

We join in prayer with everyone observing this holy day and wish you a prayerful Lenten journey.  May you grow closer to God in your faith during this blessed season.

It's polite and correct but definitely has a "what a quaint custom" vibe.

I don't think President Trump is particularly religious, and I certainly would not hold him up to my children as a role model. I do think he's become more cognizant of the central place religion holds in the lives of many of us (I started today at 4 a.m. in chapel and will not eat until after sundown, and I'm by no means extreme). I certainly don't think he's in the process of becoming a Catholic. This full-throated acknowledgement of the meaning of Ash Wednesday gives us hope that even though Trump is the most imperfect messenger, he is willing to put Christianity again at the center of public life.

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