President Donald Trump’s recent comments suggesting he could earn his way to Heaven by ending the Ukraine-Russia war prompted a flurry of theological debate on social media regarding good works, salvation and the state of the president’s soul.
“I want to try and get to Heaven if possible,” Trump told “Fox & Friends” during a phone interview Tuesday morning. “I’m hearing I’m not doing well. I hear I’m really at the bottom of the totem pole.”
“But if I can get to Heaven, this will be one of the reasons,” he added, referring to potentially helping to secure an end to the bloodshed in Ukraine.
Trump: “I want to try and get to heaven if possible. I hear I’m not doing well. I hear I’m really at the bottom of the totem pole.” pic.twitter.com/y1izqVGM84
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 19, 2025
Evangelist and Samaritan’s Purse CEO Franklin Graham, the son of evangelist Billy Graham, who has been an adamant supporter of the president, refrained from criticizing Trump for his comments but used them as an opportunity to clarify the Gospel.
“President [Trump] brought up the topic of Heaven on Fox News yesterday morning, and I’m glad he did because many people struggle with the question of how we can get there,” Graham wrote.
“We do get to Heaven by good works — not by our own good works, but by the perfect work of God’s Son, Jesus Christ, when He came to earth, took our sins to the cross, shed His blood, died, was buried, and God raised Him to life on the third day. We all have the promise of eternal life if we repent of our sins, trust Him by faith, and make Him the Lord of our lives.”
Evangelist Justin Peters suggested Trump has been ill-served by some of his famous Evangelical faith advisors if he believes he is capable of earning his place in paradise.
“How sad that after being exposed for many years to some of the most high-profile ‘Christian’ preachers in the country, Mr. Trump still does not understand the Gospel,” he wrote.
“All these ‘prophets’ like Paula White, Kenneth Copeland, Franklin Jentezen [sic], Che Ahn, etc. giddy over their access to the White House (and men who know these to be false prophets but choose to endorse them or at least turn a willful blind eye to them — I’m looking at you Robert Jeffress and Jack Graham and others) have done Mr. Trump no favors whatsoever,” he added.
Trump fielded criticism from his former attorney Jenna Ellis, who echoed Peters in her description of the president’s apparent works-based view of salvation, which she claimed did not emerge from a lack of faithful counsel.
“This isn’t powerful, it’s sad. President Trump has had many faithful Christians around him who have told him the truth of the gospel (I know, I’ve been one of them and I’ve been in the room) — that it is not by works that we attain salvation; only through confession of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and by His righteousness are we saved,” she wrote, citing Romans 1.
Some pointed out that, regardless of potential theological error, Trump’s rhetoric regarding eternity and his own unworthiness before God may indicate a change of heart in the billionaire who famously said in 2015 he was unsure if he had ever asked God for forgiveness.
“I’m not sure I have [asked God to forgive me],” he told pollster Frank Luntz at the time. “I just go on and try and do a better job from there. I don’t think so. If I do something wrong, I think I just try and make it right. I don’t bring God into that picture.”
William Wolfe, who serves as executive director at the Center for Baptist Leadership, pushed back against Christians criticizing Trump’s soteriology and urged them to pray for him.
“Donald Trump is publicly voicing introspection about his soul, his eternal future, and his desire to go to Heaven,” Wolfe wrote. “And Christians on here are dogpiling [on] him and counter-signaling it because he didn’t get the ‘theology right.’ Why not just renew your prayers for him?”
Trump has been outspoken in his belief that God played a role in his unlikely escape from an assassin’s bullet on July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pennsylvania. Some pointed out that Trump may have a changed perspective after his near-death experience.
Journalist Salena Zito, who was present at the Butler rally and wrote a bestselling book about the topic, said she was not surprised by Trump’s rhetoric given his narrow escape from death, which he has attributed to “the hand of God.”
“If you read [Zito’s book] Butler, this quote from [Trump] would not surprise you at all,” Zito posted. “His spiritual journey and his deep discussions with me about that journey is all there for anyone curious to understand him.”
Author and poet Joseph Massey echoed Zito and suggested Trump’s flash of humility may encourage others who are spiritually searching.
“Humility is not a weakness. It’s a strength,” he said. “Butler changed Trump — he felt the hand of God — and if you aren’t deranged, you saw those changes. There are suffering people, sinners in despair, who will hear this clip and take comfort in it. No power on Earth is greater than God.”
During his address at the 2024 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, days after he was almost killed, Trump thanked Franklin Graham for his influence and expressed humility regarding the fact that he is still alive.
Remembering when he heard the Gospel as a young man during one of Billy Graham’s rallies at Yankee Stadium in New York City, Trump said he is trying to be a better person after Franklin Graham sent him a note admonishing him against his use of foul language during his speeches.
“I’m trying,” Trump said. “I’m working so hard to adhere to his note to me. I’m working hard on it, frankly. But if the events of last Saturday make anything clear, it is that every single moment we have on Earth is a gift from God.”
Jon Brown is a reporter for The Christian Post. Send news tips to jon.brown@christianpost.com
