Washington (CNN) The fresh admission that he had reimbursed his attorney for a porn star's hush payment did not deter President Donald Trump from heralding his commitment to religious faith in the Rose Garden on Thursday.

Instead, he appeared upbeat and unperturbed as he signed an executive order creating an initiative focused on religious liberty and faith-based programs.

"Prayer has always been at the center of American life, because America is a nation of believers, right?" Trump said under intense sunlight on the Rose Garden steps. "So true."

Trump made no mention of the reimbursement, which he'd acknowledged hours earlier on Twitter. He'd previously said he had no knowledge of the $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels, the adult film actress who alleges she had sex with Trump in 2006. Trump has denied the encounter.

Instead, Trump sought to underscore his own religious bonafides, including his insistence that he'd revived the use of the term "one nation under God."

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