US President Donald Trump launches veiled attack on Romney and Pelosi at prayer breakfast

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump on Thursday accused some of those who supported his impeachment of hypocritically cloaking themselves in their faith, in a thinly veiled attack on Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senator Mitt Romney, the sole Republican to vote to convict him in his trial.

“I don`t like people who use their faith as justification for doing what they know is wrong. Nor do I like people who say, `I pray for you,` when they know that that`s not so,” Trump, a Republican, said at an annual bipartisan prayer breakfast.

They were Trump`s first public remarks since the Republican-controlled Senate on Wednesday acquitted him over charges that he abused his power and obstructed Congress in a nearly party-line vote.

Pelosi, a Catholic who launched the impeachment inquiry in the House of Representatives in September, said in December that she does not hate Trump and that she prays for him. Romney, a Mormon, said in an emotional speech before the Senate vote on Wednesday that his faith compelled him vote to convict Trump.

As Trump arrived at the annual gathering of lawmakers and faith leaders, typically one of the few harmonious events in the nation`s deeply divided capital, he held up two newspapers that mentioned his acquittal. Many in the crowd cheered.

He did not greet Pelosi, who sat further down on the stage. When Pelosi spoke, he scowled, folded his arms and turned away. It was the second display of animosity between the two leaders in less than 48 hours. During Tuesday`s State of the Union speech to a joint session of Congress, Trump declined to shake Pelosi`s hand and she ripped up a copy of his speech just behind him as the cameras rolled.

Pelosi later said she ripped up the copy of the speech because it was full of lies. The timing and tenor of Trump`s remarks on Thursday contrasted with the theme of the prayer breakfast, which was built around loving your enemies.

“Jesus, in the Gospel of Matthew, didn`t say `tolerate your enemies.` He said `love your enemies,`” said Arthur Brooks, a Harvard professor who served as the keynote speaker at the event. He encouraged the leaders in the room to disagree without contempt.

Trump, who spoke after Brooks, made clear that was not easy for him. “I`m trying to learn,” the president said, to laughter in the room. He said it was hard to love people who had impeached him for “nothing” but he did his “best.”

Pelosi said later at a news conference that Trump`s comments were inappropriate, especially at a prayer breakfast. Trump has deep political support from the religious right in the United States despite not being a regular churchgoer himself. The president`s position on abortion and his record of nominating conservative judges, including two U.S. Supreme Court justices, have endeared him to conservative Christians.