New branch joining us, the s. We do not have the space force. Well have a new branch of the military, the first time in seven years and he branch will be coming on, very exciting. Because of your brave and selfless service, americans can celebrate christmas and peace and we appreciate what you do and thank you very much. To begin our call, i would like to recognize a captain from the u. S. Armys 103rd sustainment command joining us all the way from kuwait. The soldiers are supporting a wartime force of 25,000 Service Members and civilians, undertaking sustainment operations in 12 different countries. And you do an incredible job. Across the middle east, our war fighters and only with the relentless determination and unsurpassed devotion we have. They have, it is incredible, the job they do. Thank you very much and we will go back to roxana and a little while and ask a couple of questions and she will have some questions for us. We also have with us sailors above the uss sherman, destro
Thank you very much, secretary bernhardt. We also have with us very special people. Congressman jim jordan, congressman mark meadows, and representative john ratcliffe. Its an honor to be with everyone tonight and all across our land, melania and i would like to wish you a very, very Merry Christmas. And now, the first lady will do the honors of lighting the National Christmas tree. So well count from five down to that very special number. Five, four, three, two, one applause thats great. music plays thats beautiful. Thank you very much. And let us show our appreciation to the incredible workers at the department of the interior and the National Park service, please. Did such an incredible job. applause thank you very much. And thank you, as well, to the u. S. Marine corps band and the tucson arizona boys choir. You know that. The chorus is fantastic. And thank you very much, tucson arizona. Thank you very much. I also want to thank a special group of young, wonderful people west tenne
Evening. Inave taught religion america for more than 35 years. And i believe that the First Amendment has played a vital role in the vitality of this nation. And i shall read it for you. Congress shall make no laws respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press or the right of the people to peacefully assemble and to petition the government for a. D dress of grievances the to come first, which is where religious freedom is often called americas first freedom. Establishment actually comes even before religious freedom. Often people dont understand what establishment is. 1833, massachusetts this established. Established. What that means is people no longer had to pay taxes to support my own religious ancestors, the congregationalists. If you want to know why establishment when a way, imagine how popular it was to pay taxes for somebody elses preacher. That is one of the reasons it went away. In also, tha
Merry christmas, everyone. Its my honor to welcome the president of the United States and our first lady. Tree]istmas trump thank you very much, secretary bernhardt. We also have with us very special people congressman jim jordan, congressman mark meadows, and representative john ratcliffe. Its an honor to be with everyone tonight. And all across our land, melania and i would like to wish you a very, very Merry Christmas. And now, the first lady will do the honors of lighting the National Christmas tree. So well count from five down to that very special number. Five, four, three, two, one thats great. music plays. thats beautiful. Thank you very much. And let us show our appreciation to the incredible workers at the department of the interior and the National Park service, please. Did such an incredible job. applause. thank you very much. And thank you, as well, to the u. S. Marine corps band and the tucson arizona boys choir. You know that. The chorus is fantastic. And thank you very
Now, i have taught religion in america for more than 35 years. And i believe that the First Amendment has played a vital role in the vitality of this nation. And i shall read it for you. Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press or the right of the people to peacefully assemble and to petition the government for a redress of grievances. The establishment of religion and freedom of exercise comes first, which is why religious freedom is often called americas first freedom. Establishment actually comes even before religious freedom. Often, people dont understand what establishment is. Now, in 1833, massachusetts disestablished. And what that means is people no longer had to pay taxes to support my own religious ancestors, the congregationalists. Now, if you want to know why establishment went away, imagine how popular it was to pay taxes for somebody elses preacher. Right