Trump's newest cash-grab is selling Christians a Bible they already have and will never read

In a predictable attempt to take more money from his conservative base, Donald Trump is now selling copies of the Bible. Just in time for Easter.

But as with all things Trump, there’s nothing original about this product. He’s just putting his branding on it, hoping that his endorsement leads to more sales.

The “God Bless the USA” Bible includes the KJV text, along with the text of the U.S. Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the Declaration of Independence, the Pledge of Allegiance, and (the kicker) the “handwritten chorus” of Lee Greenwood’s famous song.

It’s a Christian Nationalist’s wet dream.

(Follow above article link to view photos/video/PDFs that accompany this article.)

Trump advertised the $59.99 (plus shipping!) book this morning on his social network, though the video was posted over the weekend on Greenwood’s Rumble page:

… Religion and Christianity are the biggest things missing from this country, and I truly believe that we need to bring them back, and we have to bring them back fast. I think it's one of the biggest problems we have. That's why our country is going haywire. We've lost religion in our country. All Americans need a Bible in their home, and I have many. It's my favorite book…

…

… In the end, we do not answer to bureaucrats in Washington. We answer to God in Heaven. Christians are under siege. We must protect content that is pro-God. We love God, and we have to protect anything that is pro-God… 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…

…

… I think you all should get a “God Bless the USA” Bible now and help spread our Christian values with others. There you have it. Let's make America pray again. God bless you and God bless the USA.

It’s his “favorite book,” he says… even though when he was asked in 2015 to share his favorite verse, he couldn’t think of a single one. When that was followed up with a question about whether he prefers the Old or New Testament, Trump responded, “Probably equal.”

Anyway, it’s not clear what Trump’s personal involvement is here—or how much of a cut he gets for every copy sold—but it’s a perfect opportunity to remind conservative Christian voters that their faith and his politics are intertwined. He’s quite literally pandering to Christians, selling them something they already own (and could easily get for free) at a time when he’s desperate for cash.

But the backstory behind this book may be even more interesting than Trump’s personal involvement.

This supposedly patriotic Bible was first advertised in 2021, slated for publication on the 20th anniversary of 9/11. It was $49.99 at the time—I guess Trump’s endorsement jacked up the price. But when it was initially announced, there was serious pushback in Christian circles.

That’s because the NIV translation used in that particular Bible meant it presumably had a stamp of approval from Zondervan, one of the largest Christian book publishers in the world. One petition made the concerns explicit:

This is a toxic mix that will exacerbate the challenges to American evangelicalism, adding fuel to the Christian nationalism and anti-Muslim sentiments found in many segments of the evangelical church.

That petition called for Zondervan/HarperCollins to cease publication of this book.

A handful of popular progressive Christians—some of whom had written books for the same publisher—also denounced the project:

American nationalism is its own civil religion, where America rather than Jesus is the center of attention. Instead of Jesus and the Church being the light of the world and the hope for humanity, America becomes the Messianic force in the world…. It has its own theology — manifest destiny, the doctrine of discovery and American exceptionalism. And this is precisely why it is dangerous to mesh patriotism with orthodox Christian faith.

After all, the Bible does not say “God bless America.” It says, “God so loved the world.” The national anthem should not be in the church hymnal, and the Pledge of Allegiance to the United States should not be in the Bible.

…

We don’t need to add anything to the Bible. We just need to live out what it already says.

At a time when many Americans were still coming to terms with Christian Nationalism, this was an explicit attempt to merge church and state in a way that made many Christians uncomfortable. (Ah, the good old days.)

Incredibly, the pushback had an effect.

HarperCollins, along with its Christian imprints Zondervan and Thomas Nelson, said they would not be publishing the book at all. In fact, they said they never even finalized a contract; the project was announced prematurely.

But now that book is back. It has been resurrected. And this time, it’s using the (non-trademarked) KJV text with Trump’s stamp of approval. (“Yes, this is the only Bible endorsed by President Trump!” says the website’s FAQ.)

The publishers also make clear this is the KJV translation and “We do not offer additional translations at this time.” (Got that, Zondervan?)

Oh. And the pages might be sticky. Because why not.

Will the Trump-approved version of the book sell? Who knows. Even if it does, it won’t matter. I strongly suspect the sort of people who would buy this book aren’t the sort of people who read books, period. Buying it, much like buying a red MAGA hat, is nothing more than a symbol of devotion to the only Higher Power conservative Christians care about: Trump.

The website also notes that the website “uses Donald J. Trump’s name, likeness and image under paid license from CIC Ventures LLC, which license may be terminated or revoked according to its terms.” In other words, Trump isn’t really even involved with this. They’re just paying him to hawk the goods. (At this point, Trump should really package the product with his Trump Vodka. It’s the only way the experience would be pleasurable.)

The Washington Post says this is nothing new. Trump recently made headlines for doing the same thing with ugly sneakers.

CIC Ventures LLC, a company that Trump reported owning in his 2023 financial disclosure, has a similar arrangement with 45Footwear, which also says it uses Trump’s “name, likeness and image under paid license from CIC Ventures LLC, which license may be terminated or revoked according to its terms.”

A Trump spokesperson and God Bless the USA Bible did not immediately respond to questions about how much Trump was paid for the licensing deal or stands to make from each book sale. 

(It’s bizarre that the Post made no mention of the 2021 version of this book.)

I’ve said this before, but screw it. For Christians to accept Trump as a protector of their faith means they’re supporting a thrice-married racist who paid hush money to a porn star he was having an affair with when his current wife was pregnant with his fifth child. A sexual abuser. The Two Corinthians guy. The candidate caught bragging about non-consensually grabbing women because he was a celebrity. The guy who lies about everything. The guy who says he doesn’t need forgiveness. The guy who held up a Bible in front of a church after his team used tear gas to drive away peaceful protesters.

If you think that guy is in any way compatible with the main character of the book, good luck trying to get the people who live in reality to accept your beliefs.

But perhaps the bigger concern is whether Christians will raise much of a fuss over this book at all. Christian Nationalism has become so ingrained in the Republican Party that this merging of Trumpism with Christianity is barely a blip on the radar anymore.