As the Washington Post’s Philip Bump reports, though the word is spreading excitedly throughout Christendom:
On Tuesday, [Donald Trump] announced a promotion that might endear him even further to the central Christian text: a “God Bless the USA” Bible, some of the proceeds of which will flow back to him…
The promoted Bible has not only the standard books, but also a few additions including the Constitution (“which I’m fighting for every single day very hard,” Trump says in a video attached to the post), the Pledge of Allegiance and, as the webpage touts, the “[h]andwritten chorus to ‘God Bless The USA’ by Lee Greenwood.” It was originally slated for release in 2021, but an outcry from a number of prominent Christians derailed the rollout.
That was then. The current website for the book includes an FAQ that addresses the question of how the former president benefits from the partnership. It assures visitors that no money from the sale of the Bibles will go to Trump’s political campaign. Instead, “GodBlessTheUSABible.com 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.”
And that’s important, because:
CIC Ventures, though, is a conduit to Trump — personally, if not politically. In his financial disclosure released last year, he’s identified as the company’s “manager, president, secretary and treasurer” and the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust is identified as a 100 percent owner of the business. The same entity also receives royalties from his book “A MAGA Journey” and speaking engagements. A person familiar with the agreement confirmed to the New York Times that Trump earns royalties from purchases.
Although a copy of the Bible can be had on Amazon for around $4, or even for free if you’re willing to have missionaries over to add their sales pitch to the scripture, The Donald Trump “God Bless The USA” Bible sells for $60–leaving plenty of room for a healthy cut for Donald Trump to reap personally. It’s not like it’s easy at this point to separate Trump’s personal finances from the campaign shelling out millions on Trump’s manifold legal defense, but now the MAGA faithful are being asked to donate directly to Trump’s wallet for a Bible with an Americana section.
The crazy part is, thousands probably will! We hope they get their Bibles faster than the Trump sneakers are supposed to ship.
As for a Bible with the Constitution, the Pledge of Allegiance, and Lee Greenwood?
Profit motive aside, Christians outside of the United States of America (there are a lot of them if you haven’t heard) might not appreciate the “America First” appropriation of their holy book.
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I can't imagine Jesus waving an American flag any more than I can imagine him wearing a "God bless Rome" shirt.
Our Bible doesn't say "For God so loved America", it says "For God so loved the world."
America First is a theological heresy.
Donate to your (Evangelical) church. Get a tax deduction. Church uses your money to buy Trump bibles (no sales tax). Churches are used as political fundraisers for Trump, and the rest of us taxpayers subsidize their operations.
In theory, in exchange for their tax exempt status, churches are required to not endorse candidates. In practice, grifters gotta grift.
Is this the MAGA version with the Book of Donald?
"Followest thou, the money"
—1 Corruptians 3:12
"Greed is eternal."
Rule #10, the Ferenghi Rules of Acquisition
Sarah's back!!!
Sarah is awesome. Trump literally can’t quote even one passage from the bible, because he’s never read any part of it. Way to tip your hand fat donnie !
I read the audio version of Trump's Bible will be read by the Two Corinthians.
I get more than a whiff of irony in a “God Bless the USA” Bible featuring a translation known as the King James Version.
I'm not certain … is it the anachronism ["commissioned in 1604 and published in 1611" – quite a bit before the Declaration in 1776 or the Constitution in 1789],
Or maybe it is the sponsorship of King James I of England, scarcely a ruler sympathetic to the idea of "democracy,"
Or, maybe the authority to publish provided by the Church of England [which then was a "broad church" with several doctrinal strands]. One reason for the diverse opinons — "The 80 books of the King James Version include 39 books of the Old Testament, 14 books of Apocrypha, and the 27 books of the New Testament." I'm pretty certain most of Trump's backers wouldn't know what to do with the Wisdom of Solomon or the Wisdom of Jesus ben Sira (Sirach) — 2 of the 14 in the Apocrypha.
"Or maybe it is the sponsorship of King James I of England, scarcely a ruler sympathetic to the idea of "democracy,""
In addition to authoring the Bible, James I was rumored to have been a notorious homosexual with the Earl of Somerset and the Duke of Buckingham reported to have been his lovers.
Obviously neither Trump nor anyone else involved with buying or selling these actually give a shit about what the Bible actually says, but if they did, there are a TON of Bible verses that condemn adding to the Bible, including stuff like the Constitution or Pledge of Allegiance.
https://www.openbible.info/topics/adding_to_the_bible
This brings to mind the famous quote from the movie “The Magnificent Seven” — If God didn’t want them sheared, he would not have made them sheep.
Here’s the latest tabulation of TrumpSheep donations paying his legal fees:
For a free Bible delivered by real life Mormon elders, click here:
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/comeuntochrist/requests/free-holy-bible
Ask about the special free Book of Mormon combo! You may have to go to church for that.