Long Island spiritual leaders call for end to hateful political rhetoric after Trump assassination attempt

As shocked congregations across Long Island grappled with Saturday's assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump, some religious leaders demanded an end to hostile rhetoric they said fueled such attacks.

“We have to change America. We have to make America safe,” said Rabbi Jay Rosenbaum, spiritual leader of Temple Israel of Lawrence.

“What happened Saturday night was unconscionable, and God was watching over Donald Trump. It’s a miracle,” he said. “And we need other miracles to bring an end to the violence, to the shootings, the stabbings, the hatred. We have to erase the hate … and replace it with love.”

Pastors at several of Long Island’s Protestant and evangelical Christian churches on Sunday repudiated political violence in the wake of the shooting. While evangelical Protestants are among some of Trump’s staunchest supporters, the pastors described their congregations as politically diverse, and their sermons implored listeners to look past partisan politics and scrutinize their faith.

“When your enemies treat you like you’re unlovable, deplorable, stupid, fundamentalist, ignorant, fascist, foolish … or when they take shots at the one who stands for you,” it is tempting to give in to fear and anxiety, said Pastor James Kessler at Oyster Bay’s North Shore Community Church, according to a copy of his sermon manuscript he shared with Newsday. But, he said, “Political violence, whether physical or mere rhetoric, is sub-Christian. When the current political war is over, who will advance the Gospel if Christians have given up their role as peacemakers in order to win an election?”

At Beacon Church in Albertson, Lead Pastor Robert Kelly described opening his Sunday sermon by talking about some of the responses he'd seen to the shooting on social media, according to a copy of his sermon manuscript he shared with Newsday. He said those on opposite sides of the political spectrum were likely to have intensely different emotional reactions to the shooting.

But for Christians guided by Scripture, he said, neither response is adequate. "Our hopes and dreams are not in any political leader but in following King Jesus and our response to those we disagree with follows the teaching of Christ when he told us to 'love our enemies.' Christians, pray for peace, welfare, and an end to violence."

At Iglesia Bautista Glen Head in Bay Shore, Pastor Jose Olivares said his congregation was shaken. “It doesn’t matter who agrees with what [Trump] says or not,” he said, in an interview. “Scripture tells us we have to always honor and respect our leaders, so this is something unacceptable.”

For Olivares, the near-miss was “a moment of grace” given by God to Trump and the nation. It was, he said, an opportunity for Trump to gain a better understanding of human nature, and for authorities to improve security to prevent any future attempts on Trump or President Joe Biden.

Mufti Mohammad Farhan, executive director of the Islamic Center of Long Island in Westbury, said leaders there had sent out letters to their congregation condemning the attack. “You can have a difference of opinions, but for us, as Muslims, every human being’s life matters,” he said, citing a Koranic verse that likens the taking of a life to the killing of humanity, and saving a life to saving all humanity.

Senior Pastor Keith Hayward, of Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Copiague, said he had not preached directly about the attempt on Trump’s life, but that he regularly addressed the problem of violence in American life. “Americans do not know how to talk out our problems anymore,” he said. “We revert to violence, and this campaign has already been very brutal” in its rhetoric, he said.

Bishop Lawrence Provenzano, head of the Episcopal Diocese of Long Island, said he and other priests in the diocese were sending out messages that hateful rhetoric on both sides of the political aisle was creating an atmosphere that encouraged some people to resort to violence.

“I reminded people that these kinds of incidents are perpetrated by people who are influenced by the rhetoric of political people” and others, he said. “Nasty and offensive rhetoric gives license for people to act out. Some young man took that to the extreme with disastrous consequences.”

Provenzano said he was grateful and has offered prayers of thanksgiving that Trump was not injured or killed. But he also said Trump, along with those on the left, have used incendiary language.

“His sometimes combative and bombastic rhetoric has really kind of opened the floodgates of this kind of behavior,” Provenzano said, noting the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. “Unfortunately, he almost paid an ultimate price for having set this loose. I think the rhetoric on the left, even after Saturday, has been horrific as well.”

Bishop John Barres, head of the Roman Catholic Church on Long Island, said in a statement, "We lift up in prayer, President Trump, his family, and all those harmed by the terrible act of violence” in Pennsylvania. “As people of faith, we pray for God’s healing for our nation, for an end to violent divisions among us, and for a deeper respect for one another."