WATCH: Trump speaks at Faith and Freedom Coalition policy conference

President Donald Trump on Friday appeared at an event at the Washington Hilton, where two months earlier he was rushed from the hotel when a gunman charged at the ballroom during the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner.

Watch Trump’s remarks at the Faith and Freedom Coalition conference in the video player above.

Trump spoke to a gathering of Christian conservatives at the Faith & Freedom Coalition’s annual conference, where he’s made previous appearances.

Security at the event was tighter than in the past, including officers in tactical gear stationed right outside the ballroom doors.

Evangelical group founder touts Trump’s conservative record

In introducing Trump, founder Ralph Reed sought to remind the audience of the president’s conservative track record.

“This is a man who, alone among all the leaders that we have had, gave us the most conservative Supreme Court in over a century,” Reed said.

He also noted Trump’s efforts to lower taxes and move the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.

Evangelicals are a crucial part of Trump’s political coalition. Reed noted that the president has spoken to the group 10 times.

“I want to thank Ralph for the introduction,” Trump said as he took the stage. “Thank you to all of the true American patriots of Faith and Freedom Coalition. You’ve been with me from the beginning.”

Watch the full Faith and Freedom Coalition event below.

Trump credits his presidencies with returning God to America

The president claimed that “religion is back in our country, bigger and stronger than it has been in many, many years.”

He referred generally to “all of these reports” he’s read suggesting religious practice is “going up.”

He ticked through steps his administration has taken, including establishing a White House Faith Office and ending what he described as persecution of Christians by the government. He also took credit for restoring Christmas.

And he insisted none of that would have happened if the 2016 and 2024 elections were won by Democrats. He described Democratic President Joe Biden’s administration as “so bad” and “so evil.”

Biden is a practicing Catholic who regular attended Mass while in office. Trump does not regularly attended services.

Trump bashes Murkowski for opposing his bill to create stricter ID standards for voters

The president used his speech to the Faith & Freedom Coalition to attack a Republican lawmaker who has opposed his SAVE America Act.

“We have a few Republicans that are fighting it — Lisa Murkowski of Alaska,” Trump said. “You should call her and tell her to get on the ball. She’ll never win another election. I can tell you.”

The crowd, in support of Trump, booed the mention of Murkowski’s name.

Murkowski has said that the bill being championed by Trump could undermine state oversight of elections. She said the required proof of U.S. citizenship could deny legitimate voters the chance to cast their ballots or mandate states to change their driver’s licenses to conform to Trump’s interests.

Trump says Mamdani’s housing efforts will tank New York City

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani “seems like a nice guy,” but his push to make rent more affordable will backfire, the president insisted.

“These buildings will soon turn into ghettos and slums,” Trump said, suggesting landlords won’t get enough revenue to take care of their properties. Trump argued, “It will be third world.”

Trump was referring to the city’s Rent Guidelines Board approving a citywide rent freeze for certain lease renewals beginning this fall. It affects nearly a million rent-stabilized apartments and helps fulfill one of Mamdani’s signature campaign promises to make housing more affordable.

Trump also warned that the left’s election victories is a movement that “isn’t stopping with New York.”

The president said the election results this week show that “the Democrat Party is in big trouble.”

He also described the winners as not “social democrats” but “hardcore, godless communists.”

Trump says ‘nobody saw’ drone that hit cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz

Describing the U.S. response to a drone strike that Trump blamed on Iran, the president said one got through unnoticed and struck a ship on Thursday.

“We knocked down three of them. One of them, I guess — we didn’t miss it. Nobody saw it coming,” Trump said on Friday.

He made the comment after remarking that Iran still has “some capability, not much.”

“You can’t do that stuff,” he added. Earlier on Friday he called the strike a violation of the ceasefire agreement between Iran and the United States.