After Conviction, Trump Presents Himself as a Martyr to the Christian Right

Former President Donald J. Trump addressed the evangelical Faith & Freedom Coalition in Washington on Saturday, presenting himself as a champion of religious freedom and a martyr for Americans of faith while denouncing what he described as a mass persecution of Christians.

Mr. Trump also portrayed himself as having “wounds all over,” alluding to his legal troubles while suggesting that he was being targeted for his political beliefs.

“In the end, they’re not after me, they’re after you,” Mr. Trump said. “I just happen to be, very proudly, standing in their way.”

He added to raucous applause, “We need Christian voters to turn out in the largest numbers ever to tell crooked Joe Biden ‘you’re fired!’”

Mr. Trump’s appeals to evangelicals come at a crucial phase in the presidential campaign. President Biden and Mr. Trump will face off in an unusually early debate on CNN on Thursday, as polls reflect a tightening of the race.