Trump Targets Sudan and Nigeria in Global Push to End Christian Persecution
President Donald Trump is turning his foreign policy focus to Africa, where the mass killing of Christians in Nigeria and Sudan has reached genocidal levels. In a series of new moves, Trump declared Nigeria a “Country of Particular Concern,” vowed to help end Sudan’s civil war, and said his administration will “do something very powerful” to stop religious persecution that has been allowed to fester for decades.
Trump: “Christianity Is Facing an Existential Threat”
Citing that 80% of Christian deaths from religious persecution occur in Nigeria, Trump has made it clear that the killing of believers is no longer going unnoticed. In his official designation of Nigeria, he said:
“When Christians, or any such group, is slaughtered like is happening in Nigeria (3,100 versus 4,476 Worldwide), something must be done!”
Under the designation, Nigeria could face targeted U.S. sanctions unless it makes progress on religious liberty. Trump’s War Secretary Pete Hegseth has already met with Nigeria’s national security adviser to lay groundwork for joint action against jihadist factions like Boko Haram and ISIS-WA.
Faith-based advocacy group Open Doors estimates over 7,000 Christians have been killed in Nigeria in 2025 alone. One massacre in Yelwata village left 250 dead. While Nigeria’s government denies that Christians are being targeted, Trump’s administration has pressed forward. Even cultural figures like Nicki Minaj and Bill Maher have joined the awareness campaign, with Minaj visiting U.N. officials and meeting with Trump aides earlier this month.
Sudan: War, Genocide, and a U.S. Response in Motion
In Sudan, Trump is preparing what he called a “very powerful” response after a meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The country is being ripped apart by civil war between the government and the Islamic extremist Rapid Support Forces. The RSF, heavily funded by the UAE and supplied by countries like China, Iran, Egypt, and Russia, has killed an estimated 150,000 and displaced over 12 million people since 2023.
Sudanese Christians, many of whom have already fled decades of persecution, now find themselves under threat once again. Radical Muslim militias have been executing mass killings, including a blood-soaked campaign in Darfur, where darker-skinned Muslims and Christians alike are being murdered in door-to-door raids.
Pastor Gasim Domkog, who fled Sudan and now leads a church in Tennessee, told The Daily Wire:
“It’s very rare to find anybody from Sudan that has not had people from their family that has been killed.”
He described how jihadist groups are now shifting tactics from strictly religious violence to ethnic cleansing, saying:
“At first, the jihadists were using religious war as holy war, but now they’re focusing on ethnicity… Now, they’re killing their own people.”
Sudan now ranks 5th on Open Doors’ “World Watch List” of countries with the worst Christian persecution. Domkog said many believers there have clung to their faith despite unimaginable suffering.
Human Rights vs. Global Complexity
Trump acknowledged the difficulty of intervening in Sudan’s war, which involves a web of foreign powers backing various factions. Still, he signaled a moral obligation to act.
“I just see how important that is… and we’re going to start working in Sudan,” Trump said.
The Trump administration’s new push to defend Christians worldwide is being seen as a bold stance at a time when Western governments have largely ignored the issue. While critics point to the geopolitical complications, Trump and his team argue that turning a blind eye to genocide and religious cleansing is no longer an option.
As Trump puts it, “Christianity is facing an existential threat,” and he intends to confront it head-on.