Trump applauds Catholic group's multi-million anti-Harris campaign appealing to Church faithful

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Former president and current Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is continuing his campaign to cement further Catholic support — warning that the faith is being targeted by the federal government.

Trump posted a message to his proprietary social media outlet Truth Social on Wednesday cheering on a recent campaign launched against Vice President Kamala Harris on behalf of Catholic voters.

"A large group of Catholics is launching a major Political Campaign against Crazy Kamala Harris. FINALLY! Catholics are literally being persecuted by this Wack Job, just ask the Knights of Columbus," Trump wrote.

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Former President Trump signs paperwork to officially accept the nomination during the final day of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

"They say that she is the most Anti-Catholic person ever to run for high office in the U.S," the former president continued. "This respected group wants ALL CATHOLICS TO VOTE AGAINST KAMALA, and they are 100% correct."

Trump was referencing a multimillion-dollar campaign launched by CatholicVote — the largest Catholic political activism group in the United States.

The group recently launched a multimillion-dollar campaign in heavily Catholic swing states to try to defeat Harris' bid for the White House.

CatholicVote amplified Trump via social media platform X, thanking the former president for "bringing attention to our campaign." 

"We're proud to expose Kamala's vile hatred of Catholics," CatholicVote wrote. "Having a President who unapologetically brings this hatred to light is needed to combat religious bigotry."

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Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign rally in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

Not long after, Trump followed up with a more explicit endorsement, specifically naming CatholicVote and clarifying his remarks about the Knights of Columbus.

"CatholicVote.org is doing GREAT work getting Voters to the Polls — All Catholics should join this incredible cause! Crazy Kamala Harris is anti-Catholic," Trump wrote later on Tuesday. "She attacked a Judicial Nominee for being a member of the Highly Respected Knights of Columbus! There should NEVER be a Religious Test for serving our Country. IN GOD WE TRUST!"

In 2018, Harris vilified then-federal judge nominee Brian Buescher's membership in the Knights of Columbus during questioning. In her written questions to Buescher, then-Sen. Harris, in her preamble, called the KOC "an all-male society comprised primarily of Catholic men, led by Mr. Carl Anderson." 

Harris asked Buescher, "Were you aware that the Knights of Columbus opposed a woman's right to choose when you joined the organization? Did you agree with Mr. Carl Anderson that abortion is ‘the killing of the innocent on a massive scale?’ Were you aware that the Knights of Columbus opposed marriage equality when you joined the organization?"

In previous comments to Fox News, Harris campaign spokesperson James Singer said on Monday, "Vice President Harris is proud to serve with the second Catholic president ever. Catholic voters are not defined by a single partisan organization, but by their values, communities, faith in each other, and love of our country — and Kamala Harris will fight every day to earn their vote."

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A statue of St Francis of Assisi and stations of the cross surround pews in a Roman Catholic Church. (iStock, courtesy of user Stephen Barnes)

The Knights of Columbus was founded in 1882 by Fr. Michael McGivney to be a "mission of charity," to help widows, orphans and the less fortunate. 

CatholicVote president Brian Burch, in a previous interview with Fox News, said, "Kamala Harris represents the most vile anti-Catholic threat of any leading candidate for president in American history. She is a candidate of the hard left. And her record and her words demonstrate a gross anti-Catholic bias and bigotry."

Defenders of Harris have pointed out that she currently serves alongside President Biden, who routinely appeals to his Catholic identity at political rallies.

However, those appeals spark intense debate among the faithful about how much deviation from Catholic ethics on issues such as abortion and marriage can be excused before one is separated from the Church.

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Sen. JD Vance and his wife Usha Chilukuri Vance look on as he is nominated for the office of vice president at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Trump's running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, converted to Catholicism in 2019.

When Vance was announced as the vice-presidential candidate at the Republican National Convention last month, many Democrats expressed concern at his Catholic-aligned views on social issues.

Trump has been acutely targeting Catholics and religious Jews in his 2024 campaign, usually addressing them as a pair of religious minorities whose interests he claims are compromised by the Biden administration.

The former president tagged Jews on at the end of his original Wednesday appeal to Catholics, writing: "P.S. Jewish people are treated even worse, if that’s possible. They are dropping Kamala and the Democrats like flies - And it’s about time!"

Fox News Digital's Lauren Green contributed to this report.