Donald Trump read a passage from the Old Testament during a Tuesday event titled 'America Reads the Bible'. The event was livestreamed from Washington DC by Great American Media, a Texas-based company that creates family and faith content. In a video message recorded in the White House's Oval Office with the presidential flag behind him, Trump read from 2 Chronicles 7:11-22. According to its website, the event was imagined as a 'sacred opportunity to call our nation back to its spiritual foundation'. The Family Policy Alliance Foundation, a conservative lobbying group, put on the weeklong Bible-reading marathon through its ministry, Christians Engaged.
The Family Policy Alliance Foundation has pushed to defund abortion providers and restrict transgender medical care. Other Trump administration officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, are expected to participate in the event. Trump's appearance comes after a slew of recent moves that have drawn scrutiny and sowed division among his devout supporters. In early April, the president caught enormous flak for threatening to wipe out Iranian civilization, as he pressured the country to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for oil tankers. Pope Leo XIV admonished Trump's remarks as truly unacceptable, according to reports. The president responded by lashing out on social media.
If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
In a 12 April Truth Social post, Trump called the first American-born pontiff 'weak on crime' and 'terrible for foreign policy'. Trump also said the pope was only elected so the conclave could curry favor with him. The exchange brought into renewed focus Trump's childhood, during which time he attended a Manhattan church led by a pastor who opposed John F Kennedy's presidential candidacy because of the politician's Catholic beliefs. The fallout from the broadside has placed the Republican party in a thorny position, as lawmakers attempt to shore up support before the 2026 midterms. A recent Pew poll found that more than eight in 10 American Catholics regard Leo favorably.
The president also recently found himself in the crosshairs of some prominent Christian leaders. Days before the event, Trump clashed with Pope Leo XIV and upset some of his religious supporters by posting an AI-generated image appearing to depict himself as Jesus.
truly unacceptable
weak on crime
terrible for foreign policy