Bishops say Oval Office meeting was about immigration, not an endorsement
In the closing days of the midterm elections, religion has moved to the center of two political fights: a U.S. Senate race in Michigan that could decide control of the chamber, and a White House photo of Catholic bishops praying over President Donald Trump that several participants say the White House misrepresented.
At a recent rally where Trump stumped for the Republican candidate, former Congressman Mike Rogers, the president said: “I’m here to keep a jihadist Muslim Brotherhood member from becoming a United States Senator.” NPR religion correspondent Jason DeRose, reporting on the race, noted Trump made the claim without evidence. El-Sayed says he has no affiliation with the Muslim Brotherhood.
The seat is a toss-up, DeRose said, and control of the Senate could come down to Michigan. Accusations like Trump’s have been bandied about since El-Sayed, who is Muslim, won the Democratic nomination this summer, DeRose reported — but the charge now comes from the highest levels of government, the president himself.
Michigan has one of the largest Muslim populations in the country. Imam Dawud Walid, executive director of the Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said: “In my 21 years of being with the Council on American-Islamic Relations, I have never seen this level of racism and anti-Muslim animus in our political discourse.”
Walid said language like this — especially calling a Senate candidate a jihadist — makes everyday Muslims who make their lives in Michigan feel dehumanized and afraid. He said he is hopeful voters will see through what he called a scare tactic and vote based on policy, not prejudice.
On a separate front, the White House shared pictures and video of Catholic bishops praying over Trump in the Oval Office. Several bishops who participated in the meeting have issued statements saying they were not there to support Trump or his policies, DeRose reported.
Milwaukee Archbishop Jeffrey Grob issued a public apology for the pain the photo caused, but also said the White House manipulated the situation. Bishop James Wall of Gallup, New Mexico, said he and others attended the meeting to discuss immigration, and he is unhappy with how the White House has used photos of the event.
Natalia Imperatori-Lee, who teaches theology at Fordham University and is Catholic herself, said she is skeptical of the bishops’ apologies. “You don’t get to be a bishop in the Catholic Church by being politically naive or politically ignorant,” she said. “And so the idea of them being duped does not feel as genuine as I think they may mean it.”
Clergy pray for political leaders as a matter of course, Imperatori-Lee said, but bishops should know how their actions could be perceived, especially this close to Election Day.
How Catholic voters feel about the president is itself shifting. A recent Pew Research poll shows Catholic support for Trump down 20 points since Inauguration Day last year, DeRose noted. Some might see the Oval Office photo session as an attempt to sway Catholic voters, he said, but it might have backfired.
One prominent Catholic has already voted, NPR noted. According to the Vatican, Pope Leo XIV cast his ballot by mail — making him the first pope to vote in an American general election.