Vice President Mike Pence used his speech at the In Defense of Christians solidarity dinner to announce the US would bypass the United Nations in aid to the Middle East, giving directly to faith-based groups on the ground.
Aside from a snub to which the UN has yet to respond, the speech also revealed Pence's deep passion for persecuted Christians in the region and a deep hatred for the perpetrators.
Here are six quotes from Mike Pence's speech that show just how he feels about the Middle East:
1. 'Sadly today, Christianity is under unprecedented assault in those ancient lands where it first grew.'
2. 'Now that garden of faith, generations in the making, is under threat. It's under threat of persecution and mistreatment. Many of the Christian communities that first embraced the message of Christ are today the targets of unspeakable acts of violence and atrocity.'
3. 'Let me assure you tonight, President Trump and I see these crimes for what they are -- vile acts of persecution animated by hatred for Christians and the Gospel of Christ. And so too does this President know who and what has perpetrated these crimes, and he calls them by name -- radical Islamic terrorists.'
4. 'These barbarians harbor a special hatred for the followers of Christ. And under the unwavering attacks, Christianity now faces an exodus in the Middle East unrivalled since the days of Moses.'
5. 'Across the wider Middle East, we can now see a future in many areas without the Christian faith. But tonight, I came to tell you: Help is on the way.'
6. 'The truth is radical Islamic terrorism is a hydra with many heads, but no matter what name they go by, or where they try to hide, our administration is fully resolved to destroy them root and branch.'
7. 'This administration calls these vicious actions by ISIS what they truly are -- they are genocide and they are crimes against humanity.'
8. 'Under the leadership of President Donald Trump, I can assure you: The United States of America will always stand with those who suffer for their faith, and we will always support them in the hour of their need.'
