Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 3, 2025 / 18:30 pm
U.S. President Donald Trump threatened military action against Nigeria if it fails to end Christian persecution.
“If the Nigerian government continues to allow the killing of Christians, the U.S.A. will immediately stop all aid and assistance to Nigeria and may very well go into that now-disgraced country, ‘guns-a-blazing,’ to completely wipe out the Islamic terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities,” Trump said in a social media post Nov. 1.
The commander-in-chief further revealed he has instructed the Pentagon to “prepare for possible action.”
“If we attack, it will be fast, vicious, and sweet, just like the terrorist thugs attack our CHERISHED Christians!” he added: “WARNING: THE NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT BETTER MOVE FAST!”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth responded to the post on Saturday, writing: “The killing of innocent Christians in Nigeria — and anywhere — must end immediately. The Department of War is preparing for action. Either the Nigerian government protects Christians, or we will kill the Islamic terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities.”
The post alluding to possible military action comes after Trump announced he would designate Nigeria as a country of particular concern (CPC) on Oct. 31.
Under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, the U.S president must designate countries that engage in or tolerate “particularly severe violations of religious freedom” as CPCs. Violations include torture, prolonged detention without charges, and forced disappearance, according to the State Department.
“Christianity is facing an existential threat in Nigeria. Thousands of Christians are being killed. Radical Islamists are responsible for this mass slaughter. I am hereby making Nigeria a ‘COUNTRY OF PARTICULAR CONCERN,’” Trump said Oct. 31.
If you value the news and views Catholic World Report provides, please consider donating to support our efforts. Your contribution will help us continue to make CWR available to all readers worldwide for free, without a subscription. Thank you for your generosity!
Click here for more information on donating to CWR. Click here to sign up for our newsletter.
I guess we really don’t care about America First when there are natural resources to be stolen from other countries. This is less about the Christians in Nigeria and more about the untapped natural resources. If you believe it is about the Christians, I have ocean front property in KS I can sell you for a very good price.
What this truly is, is a slap in the face to all who voted for Trump.
Nigeria doesn’t need American taxpayers money or military resources. Let Nigeria solve its own problems without any sort of US intervention.
The use of diplomacy, financial incentive and the acceptance of Nigerian Christians makes sense, but I am wary of military intervention. Wars are easy to get into but difficult to get out of. Remember Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, etc.
I suspect that this “guns a blazing” talk is saber rattling, but actual military intervention would be a mistake. Nigeria is a country the size of Texas and Arizona combined with 240 million people. Military intervention would be huge, perhaps hundreds of thousands of US troops. Where is the Congressional approval of such a massive military move? I also question how much public support there is for such an action. It might be wise to cool the rhetoric.
Something must be done to prevent the continued slaughter of the weak. The UN argues it is simply over use of land, whereas it’s known to be Muslim war of extermination of Christianity. Since the weak are Catholics perhaps the US and a consortium of Catholic nations, international volunteers would suffice.