Why Should A President Not Expect Loyalty?

Trump: 'In America we don't worship government, we worship God'

BY PAULINA FIROZI - 05/13/17 11:10 AM EDT

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Speaking to a friendly crowd at the country's largest Christian university on Saturday, President Trump told the graduating class that "in America, we don’t worship government, we worship God.”

“America has always been the land of dreams because America is a nation of true believers,” Trump said at Liberty University on Saturday morning.

“When the pilgrims landed at Plymouth, they prayed. When the founders wrote the Declaration of Independence, they invoked our creator four times. Because in America, we don’t worship government, we worship God.”

"It is why our currency proudly declares, 'In God We Trust,'" Trump continued. "And it is why we proudly proclaim that we are one nation, under God, every time we say the Pledge of Allegiance."

Trump’s speech on Saturday was his first commencement address as president.

Trump noted that worshipping God is “why our elected officials put their hands on the Bible and say ‘so help me God’ as they take the oath of office.”

His remarks at the evangelical school come after days of swirling controversy over his decision to fire FBI director James Comey. As part of the controversy, The New York Times reported that in January, Trump demanded Comey pledge his loyalty to him. Comey was leading an investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016 presidential election, including possible collusion between Moscow and Trump's campaign.

In an interview with Fox News’s Jeanine Pirro airing Saturday, Trump denied that he made any such request of the ousted FBI chief, but said he did not find it "inappropriate."

"I don’t think it’s inappropriate, number one," Trump told Pirro. "I don’t think it would be a bad question to ask. I think loyalty to the country, loyalty to the United States is important."