Yesterday, President Trump and Vice President Pence addressed the 68th annual National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, DC. Every president since Dwight Eisenhower has spoken at this annual bipartisan event. But this year was different, coming on the heels of the bitter sham impeachment.

As he always does, Mike Pence spoke eloquently about the country’s respect for faith. He said, “I believe that prayer and faith are the thread that runs through every era of American history." 

Pence noted that President Trump "has made it a practice of opening every Cabinet meeting in prayer.” And he repeated the president’s remarks from Tuesday’s State of the Union address that America does “not punish prayer, tear down crosses, or muzzle our pastors.”

The president’s speech was also excellent. He recalled America’s deep religious heritage and our founding principle that our liberty comes from God, not government. 

President Trump recalled the faith of George Washington and the courageous patriots at Valley Forge, how the families of New York built St. Patrick’s Cathedral long before the city’s first iconic skyscrapers, and how America’s civil-rights movement was sustained by men and women of faith.

Trump added that America is “eternally in the debt of our African American churches… For generations, they bravely fought for justice and lifted up the conscience of our nation. And we are grateful beyond any measure." 

The president also noted that his administration has dramatically increased efforts to combat Christian persecution overseas. As a presidential appointee to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, I can attest to the administration’s commitment to this critical issue.

Wednesday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced the formation of the International Religious Freedom Alliance. More than two dozen nations have already pledged to join the United States in this effort to defend religious freedom worldwide.

The president once again condemned the "poison of anti-Semitism” and reiterated his strong commitment to the sanctity of life, saying, “Every child is a sacred gift from God.”

Two lines in the president’s remarks, however, have attracted most of the media’s attention, and I believe the president felt compelled to say them. 

There were a number of people he could have been referring to, but Nancy Pelosi stands out for the almost mocking way she repeatedly said she was “praying for the president” as she tried to destroy him and his family. 

Trump said, “I don’t like people who use their faith as justification for doing what they know is wrong. Nor do I like people who say ‘I pray for you’ when they know that’s not so.”

“Trump Acquitted”

A victorious President Trump spoke to the nation yesterday, celebrating the end of the sham impeachment trial. The president slammed the left for dragging the country through pointless partisan investigations for the past three years.

“It was evil. It was corrupt. It was dirty cops,” Trump said. “It was leakers and liars. This should never, ever happen to another president, ever." 

He held up a copy of yesterday's Washington Post with its bold headline, "Trump Acquitted," and jokingly said, "Maybe we’ll frame it. It’s the only good headline I’ve ever had in The Washington Post.”

By the way, Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) is introducing a constitutional amendment to require a super-majority vote in the House to impeach a president, rather than just a simple majority. The point of Scott’s amendment is to ensure true bipartisan support for impeachment, which was Nancy Pelosi’s own standard.

And I’m pleased to report that following the conclusion of the impeachment trial, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell immediately moved to begin confirming more of President Trump’s conservative judges!

Depressed Democrats

Democrats are in the dumps. But you don’t have to take my word for it. A top House Democrat source told Fox News Wednesday, "We all knew how this was going. But everyone’s depressed.“

The long knives are out too, as the recriminations and finger-pointing begin. Referring specifically to the impeachment fiasco, another Democrat source said that the leadership was "steamrolled by the progressive wing of the party." 

I’m with the president on this — I can’t feel sorry for Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer, not after what they just put the country through. They should have had the courage to stand up to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s mean tweets, especially after Special Counsel Robert Mueller found nothing. But they caved to the pressure and the country suffered needlessly.

And many Democrats are furious. For example:

• Don Peebles, a top Obama fundraiser, said yesterday, "Look, I just don’t recognize the Democratic Party right now. I mean, the party has turned so far-left." He blasted Pelosi’s speech-ripping stunt as "unprofessional,” “undiplomatic,” and “disrespectful to the country as a whole.” (More on that below.)

• Famed Clinton strategist James Carville said this week that he’s “scared to death” that his party is going down the path of the British Labour Party, which just got trounced for its radicalism and anti-Semitism. Carville worried that Bernie Sanders and The Squad were turning the Democrat Party into an “ideological cult,” pushing extreme issues like open borders and “people voting from jail cells.” He’s not wrong.

• Progressive activist and commentator Van Jones said that Trump is making a serious play for black support and that he has an effective message that his policies have helped historically black colleges and black workers.

Pelosi’s Planned Stunt

Yesterday, I wrote about Speaker Nancy Pelosi tearing up the president’s State of the Union address immediately following his remarks. Of course, her progressive allies and the left-wing media loved it. Politico ran this headline: “Pelosi Gave Democrats’ Real Response To The State Of The Union.”

But it seems she planned this stunt. Video has emerged that appears to show Pelosi pre-ripping a few pages of the president’s speech while the first lady is presenting Rush Limbaugh with the Medal of Freedom. 

Pelosi knew exactly what she was doing. As CNN's Brian Stelter put it, her stunt was “aggressively rude, and unapologetically meant to rile up her base. It was divisive, but effective.” Stelter wrote that Pelosi did it to take attention away from Trump’s speech.

Speaking of which, a poll conducted by CBS News found that the president’s address was a home run. Seventy-six percent of those who watched the State of the Union liked what they heard, including 82% of independents and even 30% of self-identified Democrats. Here are other key findings:

• 56% felt the president’s speech would help unite the country.

• 74% supported the president’s statements on the Middle East.

• 72% supported the president’s positions on immigration.

• 71% agreed with President Trump’s view that there is a crisis on the southern border.

By the way, several House Republicans filed a resolution disapproving of Pelosi’s actions. They wanted to hold Pelosi to the same standard as Joe Wilson, who was formally reprimanded for his State of the Union outburst. But House Democrats voted it down.

The Chaos Continues

More results trickled out from the Iowa Democrat caucuses. With 97% of the votes counted, the results show Pete Buttigieg and Bernie Sanders virtually tied. Sensing momentum, Sanders declared victory. So now we have two self-declared winners.

Speaking in New Hampshire Wednesday, Joe Biden said he couldn’t “sugar coat” his fourth-place showing, calling it “a gut punch.”

Meanwhile, Tom Perez, chairman of the Democrat National Committee, yesterday ordered a complete recanvassing of the Iowa results. Perez declared:

Enough is enough. In light of the problems that have emerged … and in order to assure public confidence in the results, I am calling on the Iowa Democrat Party to immediately begin a recanvass.