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Molly Butler/Media Matters

Trump’s religious liberty commission is filled with right-wing Christian media figures with histories of extremist rhetoric

Commission members and advisers have pushed Christian nationalist, anti-Muslim, and anti-LGBTQ rhetoric in right-wing media

Written by Payton Armstrong

Published

President Donald Trump’s newly created Religious Liberty Commission and the three advisory boards designed to support it include multiple right-wing Christian media figures with histories of extremist rhetoric and advocacy.

Trump has officially tasked the commission with producing a “comprehensive report” with “strategies to preserve and enhance religious liberty protections for future generations.” Advocates for the separation of church and state, however, argue that the commission is a “theocratic power grab masquerading as liberty and freedom,” and it “is not about religious liberty, but about advancing Christian nationalism.”

Many of the commission and advisory board members have histories of pushing Christian nationalist, anti-Muslim, anti-LGBTQ, and anti-abortion rhetoric in right-wing media, both as guests and hosts. They include televangelist and current White House Faith Office adviser Paula White-Cain, who has advocated for right-wing Christians to impose fundamentalist values in government; radio host Eric Metaxas, who has labeled Islam a “death cult” and called for an “infiltration” of conservative Christians into government; FlashPoint host Gene Bailey, who has labeled himself a “Christo-fascist, Christian nationalist”; and attorney Kelly Shackelford, who has argued for right-wing Christians to “occupy” public life in the U.S.

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  • Advocates for the separation of church and state argue that the religious liberty commission “is not about religious liberty, but about advancing Christian nationalism”

    • During a National Day of Prayer event at the White House on May 1, Trump announced the creation of a religious liberty commission composed almost entirely of conservative Christian faith leaders, activists, and media figures. Per the executive order, “the Commission shall produce a comprehensive report on the foundations of religious liberty in America, the impact of religious liberty on American society, current threats to domestic religious liberty,” as well as “strategies to preserve and enhance religious liberty protections for future generations.” [White House, 5/1/25, 5/1/25; Time magazine, 5/11/25]
    • Rachel Laser, president of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, argued that “Trump clearly designed this commission to favor conservative Christians, especially those who want to use the power of our government to impose their religion on others.” She added that “this commission is not about religious liberty, but about advancing Christian nationalism.” [Baptist News Global, 5/2/25]
    • Leaders with Faith in Action similarly denounced the commission. Bishop Dwayne Royster, who is executive director of the group, argued that the commission has “no moral authority and certainly no divine mandate to define what faith means. Religious freedom is not theirs to wield as a weapon of fear or domination.” The Rev. Deth Im, director of faith leadership strategies, called the commission a “theocratic power grab masquerading as liberty and freedom.” [Faith in Action, 5/1/25]
    • On May 16, Trump announced the creation of three advisory boards “comprised of religious leaders, legal experts, and lay advisors” who will reportedly “assist the commission in developing its final report.” The majority of the 22 members who make up the three advisory boards are representative of conservative Christianity. [White House, 5/16/25; Catholic News Agency, 5/19/25]

  • Commission members

  • 10 out of the 13 commission members have histories of extremist comments and ties to right-wing media

    The commission, comprised of 13 members, includes at least 10 figures with histories of extremist comments and ties to right-wing media, including Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick; Ben Carson, who was Trump’s secretary of Housing and Urban Development during his first term; Ryan Anderson; Robert Barron; former Miss California USA Carrie Prejean Boller; evangelical leader Franklin Graham; TV personality Phil McGraw; right-wing radio host Eric Metaxas; conservative attorney Kelly Shackelford; and televangelist Paula White-Cain.

  • Chair Dan Patrick

    • As Texas’ lieutenant governor, Patrick has pushed Christian nationalist policy goals and rhetoric, including advocating for requiring the Ten Commandments in public schools, calling the United States “a Christian nation,” and saying “there is no separation of church and state.” In 2022, Patrick declared, “We were a nation founded upon not the words of our founders, but the words of God because he wrote the Constitution.” [Texas Tribune, 11/3/23; CBS Austin, 12/26/24]
    • Patrick has appeared on Fox News’ weekday programming at least 205 times since August 2017, according to Media Matters’ internal database. After a 2022 mass shooting that was reportedly inspired by the racist Great Replacement conspiracy theory, Patrick pushed the theory on Fox News, claiming that the Democrats' “plan is to bring in millions of people into this country illegally that they can give them a green card, citizenship, and throw them into voters so they can control the country.” In another appearance, he baselessly claimed that undocumented immigrants would comprise 20% of the U.S. population by the end of Joe Biden's presidency. [Fox News, America’s Newsroom, 5/20/22; Media Matters, 4/12/22; NPR, 5/16/22]

  • Vice Chair Ben Carson

    • Carson pushed Christian nationalist rhetoric while serving as secretary of Housing and Urban Development in Trump’s first term, complained that the phrase “separation of church and state” is “not in the Constitution,” and suggested that people who do not accept that unalienable rights come from God have “schizophrenia.” [Americans United, 4/3/22, 10/24/19]
    • Carson is a frequent right-wing media guest, appearing on Fox News dozens of times as well as right-wing Christian programs such as FlashPoint. Carson has appeared on Fox News’ weekday programming at least 75 times since he left office as HUD secretary, according to Media Matters’ internal database. Appearing during the 2024 election on FlashPoint — a streaming program that is a key platform for the “prophetic” Christian nationalist movement — Carson claimed that “God had chosen him [Trump] for a special purpose, and he is going to save our nation.” [Victory Channel, FlashPoint, 11/1/24; Media Matters, 7/18/23]

  • Ryan Anderson

    • Anderson, the president of the Ethics & Public Policy Center, is a conservative Christian political commentator known for opposing LGBTQ and abortion rights and advocating against bills that would ban the harmful practice of conversion therapy on children. Media Matters has previously reported on how Anderson “routinely appears in the media under the guise of a serious academic opposed to same-sex marriage and LGBT equality” and “routinely peddles false and misleading claims about the LGBT community and legal protections for LGBT people.” Anderson’s book When Harry Became Sally disparaged trans people and was banned for four years from Amazon for violating the company’s “guideline prohibiting books that promote hate speech.” [GLAAD, 4/21/23; The Washington Post, 4/15/15; Media Matters, 6/17/15, 7/25/19; The Christian Post, 2/6/25]
    • Anderson’s group was a Project 2025 partner, and he and his group members have questioned the use of in vitro fertilization. Anderson published a piece titled “The truth about Alabama’s ruling on IVF” arguing that the media “falsely claimed IVF was about to be banned— and Republicans fell for the claim.” Anderson referred to embryos created through IVF as “frozen embryonic children” and called the procedure “morally and emotionally fraught.” [Ethics & Public Policy Center, 2/28/24; Media Matters, 6/24/24]
    • Anderson has been a guest on various right-wing media programs to discuss his book that was removed from Amazon for a period of time for anti-LGBTQ hate speech. He appeared on Fox News and The Glenn Beck Program, telling the host that the ban was akin to a “digital book-burning.” [FoxNews.com, 2/10/25; YouTube, The Glenn Beck Program, 2/25/21]

  • Robert Barron

    • Barron has been referred to as the “bishop of Catholic social media” and the “bishop of the Internet” because of his frequent use of media platforms to spread his message to millions of subscribers and followers. A Wall Street Journal op-ed noted in 2018, “No church figure other than the pope has more followers than Robert Barron.” Barron currently has nearly 2 million subscribers on YouTube, and his channel has over 220 million total views. He also has 3 million followers on Facebook and more than half a million followers on Instagram. [The Wall Street Journal, 11/29/18; Washington Examiner, 1/22/19; Word on Fire Ministries, accessed 5/6/25; YouTube, accessed 6/5/25; Facebook, accessed 6/5/25; Instagram, accessed 6/5/25]
    • Barron hosts a podcast through his ministry, and he has appeared on Fox News’ weekday programming at least 7 times since December 2023, according to Media Matters’ internal database. During his most recent weekday appearance on Fox on April 21, Barron claimed that young people are finding their way to Catholicism because they are rejecting the “infinitely bleak worldview of the new atheists” and rejecting “awful ideological secularism that is soul-crushing.” [The Word on Fire Show, accessed 5/27/25; Fox News, America Reports, 4/21/25]
    • After appearing on right-wing commentator David Rubin's The Rubin Report in 2017, Barron posted on Facebook that he opposed same-sex marriage. He posted: “So to clarify: I don’t support same-sex marriage. … I clearly stated my opposition to it even as a married gay man sat directly in front of me.” [The Rubin Report, 1/30/17; Facebook, 2/1/17]

  • Carrie Prejean Boller

    • Boller is a former Miss California USA who has increasingly pushed right-wing rhetoric, including anti-immigrant and anti-trans narratives. Rolling Stone reported in early 2022 that Boller was paying children to go maskless in Target stores, telling them on her Instagram, “You're a leader. … You're the next Rosa Parks. You're the next Martin Luther King.” [Rolling Stone, 2/1/22; Los Angeles Magazine, 8/31/21; YouTube, 5/18/23; Instagram, 9/21/24, 1/28/25]
    • Boller has appeared on Fox News to discuss LGBTQ issues in particular, declaring that “in a just world” school board members who support LGBTQ-inclusive curriculum would be thrown in jail for being “groomers.” Boller has appeared on Fox News’ weekday programming at least 4 times since October 2022, according to Media Matters’ internal database. [Fox News, Jesse Watters Primetime, 10/13/22; FoxNews.com, 9/8/23]
    • Boller has appeared on other right-wing media programs, including Lara Trump’s podcast and Megyn Kelly’s show, where she pushed anti-trans rhetoric about trans people participating in sports and beauty pageants. [YouTube, The Right View with Lara Trump, 2/6/24; Sirius XM, The Megyn Kelly Show, 8/28/24]

  • Franklin Graham

    • Graham is a pro-Trump evangelical leader, conservative commentator, and CEO of Samaritan’s Purse, an international evangelical humanitarian organization that provides relief efforts, especially following natural disasters, and its website reportedly stated that its “primary mission” is to “share the Gospel of Jesus Christ.” Samaritan’s Purse has faced criticism for “the group’s requirement that employees and volunteers sign a statement of faith affirming their belief in Jesus Christ and their view that ‘marriage is exclusively the union of one genetic male and one genetic female.’” Graham has been a staunch Trump loyalist and gave prayers at both of his inaugurations. As described by Baptist News Global, Graham's 2025 prayer “equate[d] Trump’s inauguration with God’s blessing.” [Time magazine, 2/25/25; The New Yorker, 9/11/18; The New York Times, 5/10/20; Baptist News Global, 1/20/25]
    • Graham has a long history of anti-LGBTQ advocacy and rhetoric, including attacking openly LGBTQ government officials and likening celebrating LGBTQ Pride to “lying, adultery, or murder.” In 2019, Graham lamented that Pete Buttigieg “says he’s a gay Christian,” adding, “The Bible which defines homosexuality as sin, something to be repentant of, not something to be flaunted, praised.” Graham has also claimed that Satan is behind advocacy for LGBTQ rights and praised Russia’s law that prohibited “dissemination of ‘propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations,’” and “effectively banned children from accessing media that presents LGBTQ identities and relationships in a positive or normalizing light.” [GLAAD, 1/16/25; NBC News, 4/25/19; Rolling Stone, 3/19/22]
    • Graham has declared, “There is only one true God, and He is not the god of Islam,” claimed “Islam is a danger to our security,” and urged politicians to “stop saying ‘Islam is a religion of peace.’” [Twitter/X, 6/9/16, 12/19/16, 8/17/19]
    • Graham is a frequent guest on Fox News and in right-wing Christian media. Graham has appeared at least 44 times on Fox News’ weekday programming since August 2017, according to Media Matters’ internal database. Graham also often makes appearances on Trinity Broadcasting Network and Christian Broadcasting Network, telling the network that his biggest concern for America is “spiritual deficit." [Trinity Broadcasting Network, accessed 5/27/25; Christian Broadcasting Network, 11/9/24]

  • Phil McGraw (Dr. Phil)

    • McGraw is a podcast host and longtime TV personality who previously hosted a program on CBS that became a safe space for right-wing media personalities to spread anti-LGBTQ bigotry and anti-abortion misinformation before ending in 2023. [Variety, 4/2/25; Media Matters, 11/3/22]
    • McGraw has become increasingly connected to Trump’s administration in his second term, including interviewing Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Trump's “border czar” Tom Homan. He also shadowed Immigrations and Customs Enforcement officers as they carried out raids in Chicago earlier this year. [YouTube, 4/30/25, 3/24/25; The Daily Beast, 1/26/25]
    • McGraw has been a guest on Fox News and other right-wing media — often to discuss immigration and the border — and he has appeared in Christian media to disparage single mothers. On Trinity Broadcasting Network, McGraw declared that the government needs to stop “rewarding bad behavior” of single mothers and instead encourage them to get married. [Fox News, Gutfeld!, 4/3/25; Trinity Broadcasting Network, Huckabee, 7/15/23]

  • Eric Metaxas

    • Metaxas is a right-wing radio host for Salem Media, an influential Christian media outlet that has strong ties to the Trump administration and that recently struck a deal for Donald Trump Jr. and Lara Trump to become major stakeholders. Salem Media, which boasts leading right-wing media personalities like Charlie Kirk, struck a deal with Donald Trump Jr. and Lara Trump in April that reportedly makes them “a major part of the company’s strategic growth and content offerings moving forward.” The Hill reported that as part of the deal, “Trump Jr. will become a key stakeholder of Salem and a strategic force behind its future,” and that Lara Trump “will also become a significant stakeholder in Salem Media and will support select initiatives that align with the company’s expansion goals.” At least one of the network’s hosts — Sebastian Gorka — has gone on to become a member of the second Trump administration. [The New York Times, 10/17/22; The Hill, 4/14/25; Radio Ink, 12/9/24]
    • Metaxas has used his Salem Media program to push Christian nationalism, argued for conservative Christians to stage an “infiltration” of government, and pushed false claims of widespread Christian persecution in the U.S. akin to the targeting of Jewish people in Nazi Germany. Metaxas has made comparing liberal policies to those of the Nazis and suggesting that Christians are experiencing persecution akin to Jews during World War II a staple of his rhetoric. Metaxas has likened both former Presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama to Adolf Hitler and drawn a parallel between the U.S. and Nazi Germany, often by citing Dietrich Bonhoeffer — a German pastor and dissident who opposed the Nazis during World War II. (Bonhoeffer’s family and scholars publicly decried that “the legacy of German pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer is being invoked this election season on behalf of Christian nationalism. … We warn against it.”) [Media Matters, 7/12/23; Baptist News Global, 10/19/24; The Guardian, 11/3/24; Newsmax, Cortes and Pellegrino, 10/25/21]
    • Metaxas has repeatedly called Islam a “death cult” and described the religion as “demonic.” [Twitter/X, 2/21/25, 2/21/25]
    • Metaxas has relentlessly attacked LGBTQ people and LGBTQ-affirming churches, claiming that “to identify as a ‘gay Christians’ is like saying one is a ‘sinful Christian.’” Metaxas has also claimed that the trans movement is a “war on reality and on nature” and part of a greater “war on God,” and criticized people who affirm trans identities for engaging in a “a perverted view of loving people by agreeing with their madness.” When Biden recognized Trans Day of Visibility in 2024, which happened to fall on Easter, Metaxas wrote that it was “a deliberate and satanic mockery of God Himself.” [Media Matters, 7/12/23, 4/2/24; Twitter/X, 2/9/25, 3/15/23]
    • During an appearance on Joni Table Talk, Metaxas compared atheists to flat Earth conspiracy theorists. [Media Matters, 6/3/24]
    • Metaxas has used violent rhetoric when discussing elections and reportedly admitted to punching an anti-Trump protester near the White House. In the lead up to the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, Metaxas spoke at the “Jericho March” and told fellow Salem Media host Charlie Kirk that “we need to fight to the death, to the last drop of blood because it's worth it.” [Religion News, 9/1/20; Media Matters, 4/24/24, 12/10/20]

  • Kelly Shackelford

    • Shackelford, an attorney, is president and CEO of First Liberty Institute and has major influence in the religious right movement and connections to government officials. Shackelford and First Liberty Institute — a Project 2025 partner which describes itself as “the largest legal organization in the nation dedicated exclusively to defending religious liberty for all Americans” — are connected to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and his wife, conservative activist Ginni Thomas. ProPublica also reported that “House Speaker Mike Johnson, a former First Liberty attorney, once called Shackelford a mentor” and explained that Shackelford “works closely with Ziklag, the secretive network of ultrawealthy conservative Christians that aims to ‘take dominion’ over every major sphere of influence in American culture.” [ProPublica, 9/4/24; The Heritage Foundation, 2/20/24]
    • Shackelford has advocated for right-wing Christians to take advantage of the conservative Supreme Court majority, arguing that they need to “occupy” public life in the United States. “Everywhere that crosses went down, they go back up,” Shackelford declared in a prayer broadcast, Right Wing Watch reported. “Everywhere the 10 Commandments was taken into the closet, it comes back out. Everywhere that prayer was taken out, it goes back in. … It's like God has won all this land for us—just massive land—and we just have to occupy it.” [Right Wing Watch, 6/27/23]
    • Shackelford has repeatedly appeared on Fox News to promote First Liberty Institute’s cases, often claiming that Christians in the U.S. face persecution. Shackelford has appeared on Fox News’ weekday programming at least 16 times since August 2017, according to Media Matters’ internal database. Shackelford promoted First Liberty’s Supreme Court victory representing high school assistant football coach Joseph Kennedy, who for years led students in prayer on the field’s 50-yard line after his public school team's games. The Supreme Court ruling “expanded the place of religion in public life,” The New York Times wrote. Rachel Laser of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, who represented the school board, said, “All along, a shadow network of religious extremists was using this case to advance a Christian nationalist agenda to infuse Christianity into our public schools.” [Fox News, 6/2/22; FoxNews.com, 4/19/23; The New York Times, 9/3/23]
    • Shackelford appeared on far-right One America News Network to discuss several of First Liberty Institute’s cases, including Kennedy’s. Shackelford said that as a result of the case, “Everywhere they took a cross down, it goes back up. Everywhere they put a Ten Commandments in the closet, roll it back out. Everything has changed.” [One America News, Real America with Dan Ball, 4/22/24]

  • Paula White-Cain

    • White-Cain is a televangelist, a longtime Trump spiritual adviser who now leads the White House Faith Office, and a key leader of the increasingly influential Christian nationalist prophetic movement. [PaulaWhite.org, 2/6/25; Salon, 1/2/24; The Independent, 6/25/24]
    • White-Cain has an extensive history of extreme anti-LGBTQ, anti-abortion, and Christian nationalist rhetoric via advocacy for the “Seven Mountain Mandate.” White-Cain has promoted the Seven Mountain Mandate — which asserts that Christians must impose fundamentalist values on American society by conquering the supposed “seven mountains” of cultural influence in U.S. life (government, education, media, religion, family, business, and entertainment) — as an approach to influence government and policy. She has also declared that opposition to Trump is equivalent to opposition to God, advocated against same-sex marriage and abortion access, and suggested that placing LGBTQ foster youth in affirming homes is “wickedness and darkness.” [Paula White-Cain Ministries, accessed 5/22/25; Right Wing Watch, 8/21/17, 7/20/20; Meidas Touch, 6/21/24]
    • White-Cain has been appearing in right-wing media, including Fox News and Trinity Broadcasting Network, to promote the White House Faith Office’s initiatives. During an appearance on TBN, White-Cain discussed how Trump has “elevated faith to the highest level” through the faith office. She also seemed to preview Trump’s creation of the religious liberty commission, saying that there would be “a task force under our office, which we're really excited about commissioning, which is going to give the definition of religious liberty,” adding, “We know how important that is because this nation was founded on Judeo-Christian principles — this really is an open door, and we are seeing so many things happen quickly.” White-Cain also appeared on Fox & Friends Weekend in March to discuss initiatives in the White House Faith Office, including the chairing of a task force to define religious liberty for domestic policy. [Trinity Broadcasting Network, Stakelbeck Tonight, 3/17/25; Fox News, Fox & Friends Weekend, 3/16/25]

  • Commission advisory board members

  • Trump created three advisory boards to accompany the commission

    Trump’s new advisory boards — including the Advisory Board of Religious Leaders, the Advisory Board of Legal Experts, and the Advisory Board of Lay Leaders — accompany the Religious Liberty Commission and include multiple right-wing Christian media figures, such as Jentezen Franklin, Kristen Waggoner, Gene Bailey, and Alveda King.

  • Jentezen Franklin (Advisory Board of Religious Leaders)

    • Franklin is a pro-Trump pastor who hosts a program on Trinity Broadcasting Network and declared at a 2024 Trump rally, “You can call me a Christian nationalist.” Franklin has framed Trump as chosen by God and compared the president to the Apostle Paul. [Media Matters, 10/24/24; Trinity Broadcasting Network, accessed 5/22/25; Right Wing Watch, 10/29/24]
    • Discussing Israel’s war on Gaza, Franklin told Turning Point USA’s Charlie Kirk that Christians should “do all that we can to help them in every way that we can and point them to Christ.” [Salem Media Group, The Charlie Kirk Show, 2/27/24]
    • On Trinity Broadcasting Network’s nightly news program, which has pushed Christian nationalism, Franklin declared that “America will not survive without Christianity and without the foundations of the word of God. … We need the cross in politics, we need the cross in education, we need the cross in every environment.” [Trinity Broadcasting Network, Centerpoint, 3/28/23; Media Matters, 6/2/23]

  • Kristen Waggoner (Advisory Board of Legal Experts)

    • Waggoner is the CEO, president, and general counsel for Project 2025 partner and anti-LGBTQ group Alliance Defending Freedom. Waggoner has advocated against LGBTQ people’s right to adopt children, disparaged trans people, and attacked access to mifepristone. [Media Matters, 6/24/24, 4/25/19, 3/2/18]
    • Waggoner has appeared on Fox News’ weekday programming at least 38 times since September 2017, according to Media Matters’ internal database. Waggoner often uses her appearances to criticize LGBTQ inclusion, declaring in 2023 that “Macy's inclusion of a nonbinary transgender character in a parade is just another example of an ideological war that's being waged on families.” [Fox News, Fox & Friends, 11/14/23; Media Matters, 9/20/19]

  • Gene Bailey (Advisory Board of Lay Leaders)

    • Bailey is a pro-Trump pastor, the host of the “prophetic” program FlashPoint, and has self-identified as a “Christo-fascist, Christian nationalist.” Bailey has interviewed Trump at least 7 times on FlashPoint, including a 2024 interview in which Bailey prayed that God would “motivate the American people to get out and vote” after Trump told him that “God saved me” from an assassination attempt “because he wants me to save this country for you and for people that think like we do.” During other interviews, Trump said that Christianity “is being hit much harder than any other religion,” pledged to permanently end restrictions against churches weighing in on politics in a second term, and told Bailey, “We're with you 1,000%.” [Media Matters, 9/13/24, 7/18/23]
    • Bailey has pushed extreme Christian nationalist rhetoric on FlashPoint, calling the separation of church and state “a lie” and saying that it actually means “the church should infect the state.” [Media Matters, 7/18/23]
    • Bailey has also pushed anti-LGBTQ rhetoric, suggesting that “demonic influence … has got to the point where people really think a man can have a baby.” [Media Matters, 7/18/23]

  • Alveda King (Advisory Board of Lay Leaders)

    • King is a former Fox News contributor who has pushed anti-LGBTQ rhetoric. King said that same-sex marriages are “impossible” and that people in those marriages only “think” that they’re married. In response to a question about how people should speak to their children about seeing LGBTQ couples holding hands in public, she claimed that there are “probably more studies … that prove that it is not healthy for the children than there are that say it is okay.” Media Matters, 9/3/19; Right Wing Watch, 6/10/15, 6/10/15]
    • King has also pushed conspiracy theories, including that Planned Parenthood uses birth control to give women breast cancer. [Right Wing Watch, 8/27/15; Fox News, Fox & Friends Weekend, 3/15/20]

  • Methodology

    For appearance numbers, Media Matters searched our internal database of all weekday programming on Fox News Channel (shows airing from 6 a.m. through midnight) from August 1, 2017, through May 28, 2025.