While King Charles Neglects Holy Week, Trump Honors Easter

When President Donald Trump honored the Christian celebration of Holy Week before Easter, he took a striking stand against the spiritual atrophy consuming much of Western civilization. Meanwhile, the United Kingdom’s leaders celebrated a pagan holiday instead of Palm Sunday.

“This Holy Week, Christians around the World remember the Crucifixion of God’s Only Begotten Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ,” Trump wrote on Palm Sunday on Truth Social. “[O]n Easter Sunday, we celebrate His Glorious Resurrection and proclaim, as Christians have done for nearly 2,000 years, ‘HE IS RISEN!’”

But in the United Kingdom, King Charles III — the head of the Church of England, and “defender of the faith” — apparently failed to even issue a statement for Holy Week or Palm Sunday, according to a search of his social media pages on X, Facebook, and Instagram. Instead, the next day, the Royal Family recognized the Sikh holiday of Vaisakhi, honoring the birth of Sikhism. Prime Minister Keir Starmer appeared to similarly neglect Palm Sunday, yet honored the Sikh holiday.

Choosing Different Paths

Both America and the United Kingdom inherited hundreds of years of common Western civilization, which has given them a rich heritage of Christian faith and tradition. This enabled both countries to build cultures with religious and civil liberties, yet tethered to eternal truths. As President George Washington — a member of the Church of England — wrote in his Farewell Address, “Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports.”

But this common Christian heritage is under siege by rampant secularism and paganism. Trump confronted this when he explicitly honored the true meaning of Easter and the Christian gospel. On Palm Sunday, the White House issued a formal “Presidential Message on Holy Week.” 

“In His final hours on Earth, Christ willingly endured excruciating pain, torture, and execution on the cross out of a deep and abiding love for all His creation. Through His suffering, we have redemption. Through His death, we are forgiven of our sins. Through His Resurrection, we have hope of eternal life,” the statement reads. “On Easter morning, the stone is rolled away, the tomb is empty, and light prevails over darkness — signaling that death does not have the final word.”

This direct delivery of the gospel story reflects a changing attitude among the American people, as the decades-long decline in Christianity has stabilized for the first time in years, according to Pew Research. Meanwhile, the number of religious “nones” has “plateaued.”

In the statement, Trump also made a commitment to “defend the Christian faith in our schools, military, workplaces, hospitals, and halls of government” and to continue “safeguarding the right to religious liberty, upholding the dignity of life, and protecting God in our public square.” 

This is a striking contrast to the United Kingdom, which ironically has King Charles III as an explicit “defender of the faith.” There, an elderly Christian woman was recently convicted for offering to speak with patients outside an abortion clinic. The secular government routinely arrests citizens, including Christians, for speech deemed offensive.

Meanwhile, the king welcomes cultures hostile to his nation’s heritage. While the Royal Family seemingly neglected to issue a statement honoring Palm Sunday or Holy Week, they recently celebrated the Muslim feast of Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan fasting. “#EidMubarak to Muslims celebrating in the UK and around the world,” the family wrote. The king hosted Ramadan celebrations in March at Windsor Castle, a royal residence. 

While the official religion of England is Christianity (under the Church of England), only 46 percent of English still identified as Christian in 2021 —  a 13 percent decrease from 2011, according to census statistics. Meanwhile, the Church of England has become increasingly liberal and secularized, watering down its stance on issues like sexuality.

While King Charles III neglected Christianity, Trump asked for God to pour out the blessings of divine providence upon America. 

“This week, we pray for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon our beloved Nation,” reads the statement from The White House. “We pray that America will remain a beacon of faith, hope, and freedom for the entire world, and we pray to achieve a future that reflects the truth, beauty, and goodness of Christ’s eternal kingdom in Heaven.”

Logan Washburn is a staff writer covering election integrity. He is a spring 2025 fellow of The College Fix. He graduated from Hillsdale College, served as Christopher Rufo’s editorial assistant, and has bylines in The Wall Street Journal, The Tennessean, and The Daily Caller. Logan is from Central Oregon but now lives in rural Michigan.