(RNS) — Connecticut businesswoman and former U.S. Senate candidate Leora Levy’s prayer before this year’s Republican National Convention was filled with distinctive Jewish references. After thanking God on Monday night (July 15) for former President Donald Trump, Levy, who is on the national leadership of the Republican Jewish Coalition, prayed for Corey Comperatore, who was killed during the assassination attempt on Trump’s life over the weekend, saying, “May his memory always be a blessing.” She referenced the Hebrew Bible, citing Deuteronomy 31:6, which begins, “Be strong and courageous.” She prayed for Jerusalem and for “all the children of Abraham.”
But as Levy spoke, the wall of giant screens behind her projected images of American flags flying next to Christian crosses and churches.
The scene was similar later that evening, when what appeared to be the same images flashed behind Harmeet Kaur Dhillon, a National Committeewoman of the Republican National Committee for California, as she led the assembly in prayer. She, too, lauded Trump and thanked God for protecting him from harm, but hers was a Sikh prayer, during which she also thanked God for “creating America as a unique haven on this earth, where all people are free to worship according to their faith.”
The awkward visual contrast encapsulated the sometimes fragile alliance the modern Republican Party hopes to assemble this election cycle, when forms of Christian nationalism are ascendant in the GOP even as it is also seeking to widen its tent and rally more voices — and votes — around Trump.
Leora Levy, of Connecticut, prays at the Republican National Convention, Monday, July 15, 2024, in Milwaukee, Wis. (Video screen grab)
To be sure, explicitly Christian prayers were also in ample supply throughout the evening. Archbishop Elpidophoros, an Greek Orthodox bishop, and Archbishop Jerome Listecki, who oversees the Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee, both offered broad, more general prayers.
But when politicians invoked the divine — specifically, the Christian God — virtually all of their orisons had the same focus: Trump.
Many suggested God protected Trump from harm during the assassination attempt on his life. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, one of two members of Congress who openly identifies as a Christian nationalist, told the assembly, “I thank God that his hand was on President Trump.”
When Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina referenced God while celebrating what he framed as Trump’s courage during the attack, he appeared to link Trump’s survival with the belief that the U.S. is a distinctly Christian country.
“If you didn’t believe in miracles before Saturday, you better be believing right now,” said Scott, an evangelical Christian. “Thank God Almighty that we live in a country that still believes in the King of Kings, and the Lord of Lords, the Alpha and the Omega. Our God — our God — still saves. He still delivers. And he still sets free.”
