Loving Enemies Is Hard at Post-Impeachment Prayer Breakfast

Trump seems skeptical about Jesus' mandate.

Inside the International Ballroom at the Washington Hilton, the mood at the National Prayer Breakfast was half church service, half political rally.

The program began with a spirited rendition of Hank William’s “I Saw the Light,” led by members of the House of Representatives prayer breakfast group, followed by prayers from co-hosts Rep. John Moolenaar, a Republican from Michigan, and Rep. Tom Souzzi, a Democrat from New York.

Their prayers and opening remarks echoed the larger theme of the prayer breakfast this year, which centered on Jesus’s commandment to love your enemies.

The event’s keynote speaker, Harvard University professor and author Arthur Brooks urged those in attendance not to let their disagreements over politics lead to contempt. Brooks recalled speaking to a group of conservative activists and telling them their political opponents were neither evil nor stupid.

That line, he said, did not get much applause.

He went on to talk about being raised by Christian parents in Seattle who had progressive politics. His parents were neither evil nor stupid, he said. And he challenged listeners to remember their loved ones who have different points of view—and to stand up for those who would ridicule them.

Brooks also said Jesus asked his followers to love their enemies—not just tolerate them. Putting that into practice, he admitted, is hard. Brooks asked the crowd, “How many of you love somebody with whom you disagree politically?”

Many people in the audience raised their hands. Trump, sitting quietly a few feet away from Brooks, did not.

When Brooks finished his speech on mending political division by “loving your enemies,” the president, his voice hoarse, ...