‘Let’s Make America Pray Again’: Yours for $60, the official Donald Trump Bible
Donald Trump, fresh off a near-miraculous court ruling slashing a nearly half-billion bond he owed down to $175m, is now slinging Bibles on Truth Social.
The former president — who has previously compared himself to Jesus Christ — has lent his image to the "God Bless the USA" Bible, a special version of the Good Book inspired by Lee Greenwood's saccharine patriotic tune of the same name.
Mr Trump held up the brown leather tome — this time right-side up — in an ad he shared on his Truth Social account on Tuesday.
"Happy Holy Week! Let’s Make America Pray Again. As we lead into Good Friday and Easter, I encourage you to get a copy of the God Bless The USA Bible," Mr Trump wrote.
According to the vendor website Mr Trump linked to, the $60 Bible features "easy-to-read, large print" and a main selling point is that it can be picked up and moved around, which is a common feature for not only Bibles, but most books.
"Easy-to-read, large print, and slim design, this Bible invites you to explore God’s Word anywhere, any time," the website says. "This large print Bible will be perfect to take to church, a bible study, work, travel, etc."
Mr Trump's favoured Bible also includes the chorus to Greenwood's "God Bless the USA," as well as the text of the US Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the Declaration of Independence, and the Pledge of Allegiance, making it a convenient collection for those who are tired of having to separate their church from their state.
Mr Trump has previously experienced controversies connected to the Bible. In June 2020, during the Black Lives Matter protests, he and several aides walked to St John’s Church in Washington, DC – which had suffered some vandalism – following the clearing of largely peaceful demonstrators in nearby Lafayette Square by riot police using tear gas.
When Mr Trump and his team arrived, the then-president stood silently for a while holding up a Bible. Asked whether it was his Bible he would only say it was “a Bible”. It was later speculated he had been holding the book upside down. Several opponents – including his church-going successor as president Joe Biden – accused him of using the book as a prop.
In 2015, before he became president, he was asked what his favourite book was and claimed the Bible edged out his own Art of the Deal. But asked repeatedly to quote a verse or talk about a passage that was meaningful to him he struggled to come up with any examples, saying instead: “I wouldn’t want to get into it. Because to me, that’s very personal.”
In his post on Tuesday, Mr Trump included a more than three minute video in which he rambled about the need for Christianity and prayer to "return" to the US, despite more than 60 per cent of Americans — and 88 per cent of Congress — professing to belong to some form of Christianity.
"Religion and Christianity are the biggest things missing from this country, and I truly believe we need to bring them back for us, I believe it's one of the biggest problems we have, that's why our country is going haywire, we've lost religion in our country," Mr Trump said. "All Americans need a Bible in their home and I have many, it's my favorite book. It's a lot of people's favorite book."
He also did not let the opportunity for a little faith-based fear mongering to slip by, claiming that "Christians are under siege".
"Our Founding Fathers did a tremendous thing when they built America on Judeo-Christian values, now that foundation is under attack, perhaps as never before," Mr Trump said. "What can we do? Stand up, speak out, and pray that God will bless America again. I'm proud to endorse and encourage you to get this Bible. We must make America pray again."
Many conservative Christians may be wondering if their current Bibles are acceptable in Mr Trump's eyes, but the website states that the "God Bless the USA" Bible is the only Bible endorsed by the former president, even though he claims to have “many”.