National Prayer Breakfast 2017 Live Stream: Watch President Donald Trump Give Speech To Faith Leaders
President Donald Trump will take a break from signing executive orders Thursday when he is scheduled to join business, faith and political leaders across the country at the annual National Prayer Breakfast. However, his controversial policies are again set to be a focus of attention at the Hilton Hotel in Washington, D.C.
Also set to be in attendance at the event is Jordan’s King Abdullah II. His presence could well prompt some uncomfortable discussions over not only Trump’s recently signed executive order banning refugees from Syria and citizens from seven Muslim-majority nations from entering the United States, but also his vow to move the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.
Abdullah has been in Washington this week and held meetings Monday with Vice President Mike Pence and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis. He will also greet Trump at the prayer breakfast, the White House has said.
If the two do sit down, likely to be on the agenda will be the Syria refugee crisis, for which Jordan has shouldered much of the burden. Jordan has so far taken in more than 655,000 Syrian refugees, according to the United Nations, although unofficial sources have put the number far higher. In contrast, around 12,000 Syrian refugees have been taken in by the U.S. before the resettlement program was suspended indefinitely by Trump last week.
Trump’s promise to move his country’s embassy to Jerusalem is also likely to be a hot topic of debate. Jordan’s government warned in January that doing so would cross a “red line” and could have “catastrophic” implications.
Held on the first Thursday of February, the National Prayer Breakfast, named the Presidential Prayer Breakfast until 1970, has been held every year since 1953. Organized by the Fellowship Foundation, a Christian organization, it has been attended by every president since its inception, along with more than 3,000 other guests. Generally, the president gives a speech alongside a special guest speaker, which is typically announced on the day of the breakfast.
Last year, former President Barack Obama gave a speech in which he warned against the “inexcusable political rhetoric against Muslim Americans that has no place in our country.”
The event is scheduled to begin at 8 a.m. EST. Check out a live stream on CNN here.
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