WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump assured a high-profile gathering of Christian conservatives on Friday that his administration will defend religious organizations, promising a return to traditional American values.
"How times have changed, but you know what, now they are changing back again, just remember that," Trump told the cheering crowd.
Trump, the first sitting president to address the Values Voter Summit, ticked off the promises he's fulfilled to evangelical Christians and other conservatives, pledging to turn back the clock in what he described as a nation that has drifted away from its religious roots.
He bemoaned the use of the phrase "Happy Holidays" as a secular seasonal greeting and vowed to return "Merry Christmas" to the national discourse.
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He noted, as Christian conservatives often do, that there are four references to the "creator" in the Declaration of Independence, saying that "religious liberty is enshrined" in the nation's founding documents.
"I pledged that in a Trump administration, our nation's religious heritage would be cherished, protected and defended like you have never seen before," Trump said. "Above all else in America, we don't worship government. We worship God."
Trump praised his repeal of the Johnson Amendment, which limited political activity or endorsements by religious groups that receive tax exemptions, as well as his administration's effort to expand the ability of employers to deny women insurance coverage for birth control. The White House has also issued sweeping guidance on religious freedom that critics have said could erode civil-rights protections for gay and transgender people.
Trump waded again into the cultural war that has captured his attention in recent weeks, declaring to loud applause that "we respect our great American flag," a reference to his repeated denunciations of NFL players who kneel during the national anthem.
But Trump also struck several empathetic notes, offering condolences to the victims of Las Vegas mass shooting and pledging support to the people of Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico, which have been ravaged by recent hurricanes.
"Our values will endure. Our nation will thrive. Our citizens will flourish. And our freedom will triumph," Trump said.
Trump has long been a favorite of religious conservative voters.
A twice-divorced casino owner, Trump boasted about his wealth and sexual exploits on Howard Stern's radio show and posed for Playboy covers with scantily clad women. Just over a year ago, his campaign was dealt a blow when a 2005 Access Hollywood video emerged capturing Trump bragging about committing sexual assault.
But evangelicals largely stood by Trump, who has appeared at the Family Research Council's annual gathering twice before. In 2015, with questions surrounding whether he would appeal to evangelicals over conservative candidates like Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, Trump held a Bible aloft and declared, "I believe in God. I believe in the Bible. I'm a Christian.'"
Trump appeared before the group again in September 16. Though he avoided some hot-button social issues like same-sex marriage and abortion, he vowed his support for Israel, an important issue for evangelicals, and said that it was the "dream" of the Islamic State extremist group for his opponent Hillary Clinton to be elected president.
Also on Friday, Trump toured the suburban Maryland facility where Secret Service agents sharpen their skills, at one point applauding as his press secretary rolled up in a Dodge Charger after taking a hair-raising spin around a driver training course.
Trump, accompanied by first lady Melania Trump, was on his first visit to the facility, which belongs to the federal agency that is charged with providing around-the-clock protection for the president and his immediate family.
Trump has described the Secret Service as "phenomenal." Critics have complained that Trump's frequent weekend travel to his homes in Florida and New Jersey, along with business and other travel by some of his adult children, is taxing the agency's budget.
The president arrived by helicopter from the White House and was driven first to a canine training facility.
Trump and his wife met agency personnel. The White House did not allow journalists to see what the president saw after several barking dogs were brought out from a nearby facility. Press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said they saw several K-9 demonstrations.
At the vehicle training course, reporters watched as Trump absorbed the details relayed to him by Secret Service training staff about two former presidential vehicles the agency keeps there on display.
One is a 1993 Cadillac limousine last used by President Bill Clinton. The other is a 1983 Cadillac convertible with the roof down.
Trump also visited the firing range between stops, Huckabee Sanders said.
Information for this article was contributed by Darlene Superville of The Associated Press.
A Section on 10/14/2017