STORY: U.S. President Donald Trump appeared in a video message at the National Jubilee of Prayer, a Trump administration-backed celebration of U.S. religious heritage on Washington's National Mall on Sunday (May 17), reading 2 Chronicles 7:17-20, a Biblical account of God speaking to Solomon.

The nine-hour program, called "Rededicate 250: National Jubilee of Prayer, Praise & Thanksgiving," mostly features speakers from two Christian traditions — evangelical Christianity and conservative Catholicism.

In another video message, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said America's "young" identity as a nation had long been tied to faith, saying the country's "soul" was "rooted in an ancient faith."

Vance, also on video, quoted what he called his "dear friend, the late great Charlie Kirk," saying America's laws and morality were rooted in religion, adding that "the morality and religion that formed the American consciousness were decidedly Christian."

House Speaker Mike Johnson appeared on stage at the event marking the country's 250th anniversary and offered a prayer rededicating the United States "as one nation under God."

Addressing worshippers, Dr. Alveda King, niece of Martin Luther King Jr., said the civil rights movement was sustained by faith and prayer, saying that when "doors of schools, busses and voting booths were closed," the "doors of the church swung wide open."

The gathering, part of celebrations marking 250 years since the founding of the United States, was organized by Freedom 250, a public-private partnership created by the White House to coordinate 250th anniversary celebrations alongside federal agencies.

Advocates of church-state separation say the event blurs government and religion

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Trump, Vance, Rubio and Johnson offer prayers at National Jubilee marking US 250th anniversary

VIDEO SHOWS: NATIONAL JUBILEE OF PRAYER EVENT ON THE NATIONAL MALL IN WASHINGTON, D.C. AS PART OF CELEBRATIONS MARKING THE 250TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE UNITED STATES / SOUNDBITES FROM U.S. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP, VICE PRESIDENT JD VANCE, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE MARCO RUBIO, SPEAKER OF THE U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MIKE JOHNSON, DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING'S NIECE DR. ALVEDA KING, AND FORMER U.S. SECRETARY OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT BEN CARSON

SHOWS: WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES (MAY 17, 2026) (FREEDOM 250 - No resales)

1. CROWD OF ATTENDEES LISTENING TO PRAYERS, CAPITOL BUILDING IN THE BACK

2. (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. PRESIDENT, DONALD TRUMP, QUOTING 2 CHRONICLES 7:17-20 VIA VIDEO MESSAGE:

“Then will I establish the throne of my Kingdom according to, as I have, covenanted with David your father, saying, There shall not fail you as a man to be ruler in Israel. But if you turn away and forsake my statutes and my commandments, which I have set before you, and shall go and serve other gods and worship them, then will I pluck them up from the roots out of my land which I have given them, and this house which I have sanctified for my name, will I cast out of my sight and will make it to be a proverb and a byword among nations.”

3. CAPITOL BUILDING, CROWD OF ATTENDEES RAISING THEIR ARMS

4. (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. VICE PRESIDENT, JD VANCE, SAYING VIA VIDEO MESSAGE:

"From our religious inheritance comes many of the virtues and institutions we most cherish as a people. Our system of justice, our generosity to neighbors, our respect for conscience and the moral discipline necessary for liberty itself. As my dear friend, the late great Charlie Kirk put it, all law reflects a morality. Neither law nor morality appears in a vacuum, but ultimately come from religion and the morality and religion that formed the American consciousness were decidedly Christian, founded upon the principles and the divinity of Jesus Christ."

5. CROWD OF ATTENDEES APPLAUDING

6. (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE, MARCO RUBIO, SAYING VIA VIDEO MESSAGE:

“This is who we are. It is who we have always been. America is still a young nation, measured against the record of history. And from the beginning, we have carried the belief that our country represents something new in the world. But the soul of our nation has always been rooted in an ancient faith.”

7. SPEAKER OF THE U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MIKE JOHNSON ENTERING STAGE

8. (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. HOUSE SPEAKER, MIKE JOHNSON, SAYING:

(SOUNDBITE RUNS OVER DIFFERENT SHOT OF JOHNSON AT LECTERN)

“Almighty God, we ask that you hear these s olemn petitions just as we in the beginning dedicated this land to your most holy name. Today Here, Lord, in this 250th year of American independence. We hereby rededicate the United States of America as one nation under God.”

9. ATTENDEES RAISING THEIR ARMS UP IN THE AIR

10. DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING'S NIECE DR. ALVEDA KING ON STAGE, APPROACHING LECTERN

11. (SOUNDBITE) (English) DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING'S NIECE, DR. ALVEDA KING, SAYING:

"I stand here today as part of the King family legacy, the family of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Junior. The prophet you called to lead what history records as the 20th century civil rights movement. The movement was shaped in the pulpits of America, carried forward on the wings of the gospel of Jesus Christ and sustained by the power of prayer. Faith was the heartbeat of that struggle. When doors of schools, busses and voting booths were closed. The doors of the church swung wide open."

12. FORMER U.S. SECRETARY OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT BEN CARSON WALKING ON STAGE

13. (SOUNDBITE) (English) FORMER U.S. SECRETARY OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT, BEN CARSON, SAYING:

“The lesson of the last 250 years is that in America, we don't wait for miracles. We get to work and let God work them through us. We need to discuss and learn from our history, the good, the bad and the ugly. But the fortunate thing is there's a heck of a lot more good than there is bad and ugly."

14. VARIOUS OF CROWDS OF ATTENDEES DURING EVENT