Ruth Graham
President Donald Trump has a complicated relationship with the Bible. He has often called it his favourite book, has posed with it for photographers outside a church and has sold his own edition for $US60.
But he has also struggled to name a favourite passage or even pick a favourite Testament between the two.
Now, fresh from a week in which he skirmished with the Pope, and Christians accused him of blasphemy, Trump will participate in a marathon reading of the entire Bible in Washington, the event’s organisers announced Friday (US time).
The event’s leader, a conservative activist who once ran for Congress in Texas, has described it as a “a national reading of God’s law”.
The White House issued a statement Friday praising the event, America Reads the Bible, as an occasion to “honour Holy Scripture, renew our faith, usher in a historic resurgence of religion on American shores, and rededicate the United States as one Nation under God”.
Trump recorded his segment of the reading from the Oval Office, organisers said. He read a passage from the Old Testament book of 2 Chronicles that has become a touchstone for many of his Christian supporters, who interpret it as a call to national repentance and subsequent blessing.
The central verse in 2 Chronicles 7 reads: “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.”
“It’s been a hallmark of the religious right to cite this particular passage,” said Matthew D. Taylor, a visiting scholar at the Centre on Faith and Justice at Georgetown University.
Biblical scholars emphasise that the passage concerns the writer’s understanding of a particular covenant between God and the ancient Israelites. The books of Chronicles cover centuries of Jewish history, including the reigns of kings David and Solomon.
In recent decades the verse has become the subject of songs, prayers and sermons that interpret it as a promise with direct political implications for the contemporary United States. For example, at the Capitol attack on January 6, 2021, the founder of a group called Cowboys for Trump prayed the passage through a bullhorn over the crowd, which chanted “Fight for Trump!” in response.
Trump’s reading comes after a tumultuous run of self-inflicted challenges to his relationship with his most loyal Christian supporters. Last weekend the president posted an image generated by artificial intelligence that appeared to depict him as Jesus Christ performing a miraculous healing.
The backlash from Christians was swift, with many describing the image as blasphemous. Trump deleted the post the next day, and said he believed the image showed him as a doctor.
Trump also unleashed a long diatribe against Pope Leo XIV, who has been critical of the war in Iran. The tirade, which the president opened by calling the Pope “weak on crime”, was greeted with confusion and disgust by many American Catholics.
Trump recorded his Bible reading from 2 Chronicles on Tuesday, the event’s organiser, Bunni Pounds, said in an interview.
The event has been in the works for more than a year, envisioned in part as an invitation for leaders to “humble themselves in front of the American people” in anticipation of the country’s 250th anniversary, Pounds said. Under the Trump administration, official celebrations appear poised to emphasise the Christian roots of the nation’s founding.
America Reads the Bible will run from 9am to 9pm for a week, starting with Genesis 1 on Sunday (US time) and ending with the last chapter of Revelation on Saturday evening. Most participants will read their passages live at the Museum of the Bible in Washington but some high-profile participants prerecorded their segments.
Trump’s recitation will be broadcast Tuesday between 6 and 7pm Eastern time (8am-9am Wednesday AEST), in a block that also includes Ben Carson, the former housing secretary, and home-school advocate Heidi St John.
The list of almost 500 other readers is a who’s who of Trump’s most loyal Christian supporters, including those in his current administration.
Participants include US Secretary of State Marco Rubio; Secretary of War Pete Hegseth; and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.
Other readers include pastors, activists, influencers, entertainers, revivalists and an array of current and former elected officials, all Republicans. (Organisers say they invited dozens of Democratic members of Congress and none responded.) The overwhelming majority are evangelical Christians.
Many will read passages chosen to be resonant with their own work or with the current moment.
Governor of Texas Greg Abbott will read Isaiah 43, which contains a verse that has often been referred to in the aftermath of deadly flooding in the state last summer: “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you”.
White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles will read Proverbs 31, which includes a wide-ranging list of qualities of “a wife of noble character” that has become a touchstone for many Christian women.
