Owens pointed to the broad rejection by many conservatives of diversity, equality and inclusion initiatives, also known as DEI, saying: “Are we now the party that critiques DEI and then also practices it at certain points?”
Archbishop Jerome Listecki addresses the Republican National Convention, Monday, July 15, 2024, in Milwaukee, Wis. (Video screen grab)
In addition, Nick Fuentes, a white supremacist and self-identifying Christian nationalist who dined with Trump in 2022 and leads a far-right movement that has largely supported Trump, railed against the prayer online, incorrectly condemning it as a “Satanic Hindu prayer” and deriding it as “blasphemy.”
The Sikh Coalition declined to comment on Dhillon’s prayer, and the Republican Jewish Coalition did not respond to requests for comment.
It’s an open question as to whether the far-right fury over Dhillon’s prayer reflects the views of anyone in attendance at the RNC, but conflicting religious visions were already on display in the crowd on Monday night. As Levy led her prayer, infused with aspects of her Jewish faith, the C-SPAN camera panned to a crowd of RNC delegates and focused on one man in a white shirt emblazoned with a slogan.
It read, in all caps: “Jesus Christ is King.”
This article originally appeared here.
