A Fox News host is under fire over her unique take on whether or not America is s Christian nation.

Carley Shimkus, co-host of “Fox & Friends First,” came to the defense of Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Tuesday. The Arkansas Republican had declared Friday, the day after Christmas, a holiday, “in order that state employees may spend this holiday with their families giving thanks for Christ’s birth.”

Huckabee Sanders went even further.

“More than two millennia ago in the little town of Bethlehem,” she wrote in an official state email last week, according to the Arkansas Times, “far from the centers of power in first-century Rome, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was born in a humble manger.”

“Jesus was the Messiah and became a teacher and leader, and He would be crucified, suffer for the sins of all mankind, die and be buried, and rise again on the third day to sit at the right hand of the Father.”

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The governor was admonished by the Freedom From Religion Foundation, which called her declaration an “abuse of power.”

“State offices are not churches, and gubernatorial proclamations are not sermons,” Chris Line, an attorney with the group wrote in a press release, the Arkansas Times also reported. “The governor is free to practice her religion privately, but she may not use the authority of the state to promote Christian doctrine as official government speech.”

On Tuesday, on Fox News’ “Outnumbered,” Shimkus told viewers, “the bottom line here is that, yes, we are a secular republic when it comes to our government, but we are a Christian nation.”

Shimkus had also declared that the governor received the letter criticizing her message, “as she was leaving a menorah lighting ceremony, like, that’s the irony of the timing of that.”

“Also,” she said, continuing to defend the governor, “she’s the daughter of … the ambassador to Israel.”

The Freedom From Religion Foundation responded to Shimkus’ remarks on social media.

“We’re a secular nation where you’re free to believe whatever you want,” the organization wrote. “So you can believe that we’re a Christian nation… But you’re wrong.”

Shimkus: The bottom line is that yes, we are a secular republic when it comes to government, but we are a Christian nation. pic.twitter.com/uRsVk557KH

— Acyn (@Acyn) December 23, 2025

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President Donald Trump announced he will host the “Trump Kennedy Center” honors on Tuesday night, where he also floated an unexpected question.

“At the request of the Board, and just about everybody else in America, I am hosting the event,” the president wrote in the lighthearted post. Trump is the chairman of the board.

“Tell me what you think of my ‘Master of Ceremony’ abilities,” he continued.

“If really good, would you like me to leave the Presidency in order to make ‘hosting’ a full time job?” Trump asked. It was not immediately clear whether he was joking.

This is the first time a U.S. president has hosted the event, which was recorded earlier this month and will be broadcast Tuesday night.

“We will be honoring true GREATS in the History of Entertainment: Sylvester Stallone, Michael Crawford, KISS, George Strait, and Gloria Gaynor,” Trump also noted.

Also unclear is if the “Trump Kennedy Center” name will remain. The Kennedy Center was named by an act of Congress.

A Democratic Congresswoman has filed a lawsuit on Monday to remove the president’s name from the iconic memorial to the late President John F. Kennedy.

READ MORE: DOJ Issues ‘Bizarre’ Disclaimer Defending Trump in Latest Epstein Files Dump

The U.S. Department of Justice has issued a disclaimer warning aimed at protecting President Donald Trump amid its latest Epstein files dump.

The files, approximately 30,000, comprise the third batch released by the Justice Department. All files were required to be released on December 19, but the DOJ has been releasing them in batches and said it could take up to several weeks for all the files to be made available.

“The latest documents appear to contain court records, emails, and some heavily or completely redacted files,” according to CNBC.

“Some of these documents contain untrue and sensationalist claims made against President Trump that were submitted to the FBI right before the 2020 election,” the DOJ stated in its warning posted to social media.

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“To be clear: the claims are unfounded and false, and if they had a shred of credibility, they certainly would have been weaponized against President Trump already. Nevertheless, out of our commitment to the law and transparency, the DOJ is releasing these documents with the legally required protections for Epstein’s victims.”

The Bulwark’s Bill Kristol wrote, “The Justice Department as Trump’s defense counsel. And a disreputable one at that.”

Politico senior legal affairs correspondent Kyle Cheney called the DOJ’s statement “bizarre.”

“Bizarre defensive post from DOJ saying if allegations of Trump had any credibility they would’ve been ‘weaponized’ against him. But… if they had credibility, then pursuing them, by definition, wouldn’t be weaponization.”

The Bulwark’s Sam Stein called it a “tweet that reads as if it came from Trump’s personal defense lawyer.”

Former Republican U.S. Congressman Joe Walsh added, “Technically, this tweet is coming from our government. But it sounds like & reads like it’s coming from Trump’s lawyers. Trump has so completely corrupted our Justice Department.”

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Image via Reuters