Some see Christian First bias in Trump foreign policy
A White House official called any suggestion of religious favoritism 'demonstrably false.'
By NAHAL TOOSI 10/04/2018 06:39 PM EDT
Evangelical Christians came out aggressively for Donald Trump in 2016. As president, Trump has returned the favor, delivering for the Christian right — not just at home, but also overseas.
Trump defied international opinion and recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. The White House rattled relations with NATO ally Turkey by imposing sanctions over its detention of an American pastor. Trump’s initial travel ban included exemptions for Christians. Senior administration officials have eagerly taken up a cause that happens to be a favorite of the Christian right: global religious freedom. And the State Department was quick to call the Islamic State’s persecution of Christians a “genocide.”
But for human rights activists, Democrats and even some Republican staffers in Congress, these and other policies appear to have come at the expense of other religious groups — especially Muslims.
Moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem upset many Muslim leaders in the Arab world. Trump’s travel ban has been condemned for largely affecting Muslims overseas. The administration also has not yet applied the “genocide” designation to another well-documented slaughter of a religious minority — the Rohingya Muslims of Myanmar.
“The sense that human rights apply universally doesn’t carry weight with most people in this administration,” said Sarah Margon, Washington director for Human Rights Watch.
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https://www.politico.com/story/2018/10/04/christian-bias-trump-foreign-policy-870853