Trump mocks Speaker Johnson's mealtime prayer at National Prayer Breakfast: 'Excuse me? We're having lunch'

At the National Prayer Breakfast, President Trump mocked House Speaker Mike Johnson for praying before meals, recounting how Johnson sometimes asks him 'May we pray?' at lunch, with Trump responding: 'Excuse me? We're having lunch. You know--It's ok with me.' Trump characterized the evangelical Southern Baptist speaker as 'a very religious person' who doesn't 'hide it.' He then joked about relying on Johnson's religiosity for spiritual protection: 'God is watching over him\! I don't know about me\! So I hang around with him so I feel I'm protected a little bit\!' The remarks drew awkward laughter from the audience at an event specifically dedicated to prayer. Trump's mockery of mealtime prayer--a traditional Christian practice--at a prayer breakfast illustrated his transactional relationship with religious observance, treating faith as something to leverage rather than practice.

"Excuse me? We're having lunch. You know--It's ok with me." — Trump at the National Prayer Breakfast mocking Speaker Johnson's practice of praying before meals