A petition recently created by Faithful America is nearing its goal of signatures on Sunday as it condemned two pro-Donald Trump supporters as “false prophets” in response to the “Courage Tour” which is set to stop in Pennsylvania later this month.
In its petition from September 6, Faithful America, an organization of Christians supporting social justice causes while opposing “Christian nationalism,” is condemning MAGA (Make America Great Again) pastor and evangelical leader Lance Wallnau and Charlie Kirk, founder and president of conservative organization Turning Point USA for their “Courage Tour,” an event that targets key battleground counties across the country with a blend of religious and political activism in which preachers and self-styled prophets promise healing, and aim to help deliver this year’s election to Trump.
As Trump, the GOP presidential nominee, is set to face off in November against Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, battleground states will play a key role in determining the result of this year’s election due to the Electoral College, which awards each state a certain number of electoral votes based on population. A presidential candidate needs to secure 270 electoral votes for victory, and winning the national popular vote does not guarantee success.
According to the Courage Tour’s website, the event “is the celebration of Jesus Christ’s courage and triumph, providing powerful teachings to inspire attendees to boldly live out their faith. As a collective force rooted in shared values, the tour is a clarion call to stand in unity for what truly matters.”
However, according to Faithful America, the “Courage Tour,” which has already made several stops in Arizona, Georgia and Michigan, serves as a way “two of our biggest False Prophets…try and swing the election for Trump,” as they promote the former president and “their white Christian nationalist agenda.”
Faithful America added in its petition, which has garnered 13,808 signatures as of Sunday morning with a goal of 15,000, a call for action for the next stop of the tour in Monroeville, Pennsylvania, at the end of this month as they warn the venue, Monroeville Convention Center, of the “dangerous message” they would be supporting of “hateful, bigoted, and un-democratic rhetoric,” if they host the event.
“We may not be able to stop Wallnau and Kirk from spewing fear and hate in the name of Jesus…but we can make it a lot harder for them. The Faithful America community and our progressive Christian allies have successfully pressured venues to reject Michael Flynn‘s Reawaken America Tour in the past—we need to do the same for the Courage Tour. Add your name to tell the Monroeville Convention Center they should not host Wallnau’s blasphemous, pro-insurrection Courage Tour,” the petition states.
The “ReAwaken America Tour” was a conservative conference that traveled across the U.S. last year featuring several conservative speakers who are supporters of Trump. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), a civil rights organization, describes the tour as a “controversial far-right” conference that features “prominent QAnon influencers, anti-vaxx activists, election fraud conspiracy theorists, Christian pastors, political candidates and elected officials.”
Faithful America also created a petition in an effort to stop the tour and hosted protests.
Newsweek has reached out to Faithful America, Trump’s campaign, the Courage Tour and the Monroeville Convention Center via email for comment.
Former President Donald Trump is seen on September 13 in Rancho Palos Verdes, California. A petition recently created by Faithful America is nearing its goal of signatures on Sunday as it condemned two pro-Trump supporters as “false prophets” in response to the “Courage Tour” which is set to stop in Pennsylvania later this month.
Mario Tama/Getty Images
The petition comes as Wallnau, a prominent figure in the pro-Trump evangelical movement, has long portrayed the former president as a divinely chosen leader tasked with saving America from what he describes as a spiritual and political decline.
As one of the earliest advocates of the idea that Trump was “God’s chosen,” Wallnau first gained national attention in 2016 when he compared Trump to Cyrus, a biblical figure who was chosen by God to free the Jewish people from captivity.
Wallnau’s influence has only grown among evangelical Trump supporters since then. Through the Courage Tour and social media presence, he has been mobilizing Christian voters across the country, particularly in battleground states like Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, where his events draw large crowds.
Meanwhile, Kirk, known for his provocative style and unwavering support for Trump, has also been at the forefront of several controversies involving his efforts including his organization Turning Point USA. Founded by Kirk in 2012, Turning Point USA describes itself as the largest and fastest-growing conservative youth activist organization in the country. The group’s stated mission is to identify, educate, train, and organize students to promote principles of freedom, free markets, and limited government.
Recently, the group has come under fire from some conservatives who argue that it has strayed from its original mission of promoting conservative values on college campuses. Ben Rothove, a conservative fellow at the Washington Examiner, recently penned an op-ed criticizing Kirk and Turning Point USA, stating that the organization is “doing far more harm than good for the conservative movement” and calling for a purge of its “toxic leadership.”
Rothove’s critique comes in the wake of Turning Point’s recent “People’s Convention” in Detroit, which featured controversial speakers such as conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and conservative commentators Jack Posobiec and Candace Owens. The event, which was headlined by Trump, drew criticism for its focus on middle-aged attendees rather than its purported youth demographic.
