President Donald Trump on Thursday falsely claimed he had eliminated a provision of the U.S. tax code that bans 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations, including churches, from endorsing or opposing political candidates.
Watch the clip in the video player above.
“People like me and like a lot of people, they want to hear ministers,” Trump said. “They want to hear from priests. They want to hear from them. and you were restricted from talking about very important things like who to elect.”
WATCH: Trump says Gabbard joined FBI search at Fulton County election center at Bondi’s ‘insistence’
The president made the remarks during the 74th National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C.
During Trump’s first term in office in 2017, he signed an executive order directing the Treasury Department to give leeway to churches and other organizations regarding political speech. Last year, the IRS carved out a narrow exemption, allowing a house of worship to endorse political candidates directly to its congregants “in connection with religious services through its usual channels of communication on matters of faith.”
WATCH: Trump calls GOP Rep. Massie, who fought for Epstein files release, a ‘moron’
“We worked hard in getting rid of the Johnson Amendment,” he said. “It’s gone as far as you can say anything you want.”
“Now if you do say something bad about Trump, I will change my mind, and I will have your tax-exempt status immediately revoked,” Trump added, drawing laughter from the audience.
