According to several news reports, the White House demanded that all “signage and symbols” be covered during the president’s speech Tuesday. Fox News reported that the White House “insisted that the move was made only to provide a proper setting for the speech.” What was the setting? A Catholic university founded by the Jesuits in 1789! Moreover, the president quoted the Sermon on the Mount during his address, which begs the question: Why would the president go to a Catholic university to deliver a speech quoting the Sermon on the Mount, and demand that a symbol of the sermon’s author be covered up?
What explains this odd behavior? The president goes overseas denies America’s cultural heritage and tells Muslim audiences about Islam’s contributions to America. He bows before Saudi Arabia’s Muslim king and the White House tries to deny it. Now he goes to a Catholic university and tries to turn it into a secular institution by demanding that religious symbols be covered up. Whoever is advising the president on protocol needs to be fired."
Gary Bauer
Campaign for Working Families