Earlier this week, Donald Trump unveiled his newest grift to squeeze money out of his cult followers: Trump-branded Bibles. Claiming the book contains the "King James version" and "also includes the Founding Father [sic] documents," Trump promised "you have to have it for your heart, for your soul." The screenshots of the video are funny by themselves, but I highly recommend watching the ad Trump cut for these Bibles. Trump radiates total contempt for Christianity.
This is Trump in his angry-bored mode, letting viewers know with his listless tone and posture that he thinks all this Bible stuff is dumb. The not-at-all subtle message of the video is that Trump doesn't believe any of this faith-in-God crap, but he definitely believes in using Christian identity as a weapon to make money and dominate his foes.
Many Trump opponents on social media replied with video clips underscoring how Trump may be the single most ignorant person in the country about the contents of the Bible.
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It's a point I've made many times myself. But it's time to consider the strong possibility that Trump's disdain towards the practice and theological beliefs of Christianity is not a surprise to his followers. It's likely a selling point that Trump's version of "Christianity" is void of faith and morality. His pitch to his followers has a certain appeal: They can have the identity "Christian," and all the power that goes with it, minus the parts they don't like. No boring church services or Bible study. No tedious talk about "compassion" and "grace," which only gets in the way of the gay-bashing and racism. And definitely no need to worry about that Jesus guy, with all his notions about "loving thy neighbor" and "welcoming the stranger."
In Trump's hands, the Bible is not a text for prayer and reflection, it's just a weapon.
Their new lord is Trump himself. He's a lot more fun for the redhats since his message is "kick thy neighbor" and "build the wall." Frankly, I'm sure most of them find it a huge relief, not having to pretend they ever cared about that peace-and-charity crap.
Trump products tend to be marketed with claims that range from "deeply dubious" to "FTC violation." While I am not about to waste $60 on a Trump Bible to see where it falls on the misleading advertising scale, I will note some red flags in the quality control department. The ad copy promises that, within this book cover, customers will get the "King James Version translation," as well as a copy of the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence and the lyrics to "God Bless America," among other texts. But it also promises an "[e]asy-to-read, large print, and slim design." People who actually read books should instantly see the contradiction.
True, Trump's stubby fingers make anything he holds look bigger. Still, anyone can see that this is a lightweight volume. Page count-wise, it looks less like "War and Peace" and more like a user manual for a can opener. Most King James Bibles have teeny-tiny print and thin paper and still are pretty heavy. The actual Bible has a lot of words — 783,137 to be exact. That makes it almost eight times as long as "The Art of the Deal," which clocks in at 384 pages. (Probably only by dint of generous font size.) It seems impossible to stuff the entire Bible — as well as all those other documents — into that sleek bit of binding, even if you do cut out every passage where Jesus does "woke" stuff like healing the sick and feeding the poor.
Trump tells them what they want to hear: You can be a Christian without compassion.
Not that it matters, of course. The pages of Trump's "Bible" could all be blank, and there's a good chance no one would ever know it. In the right-wing publishing industry, books are not made to be read. They are to be displayed on your shelves, unopened, so you can glance at them and feel that somewhere, a liberal is "owned." (When I visit right-wing relatives, I open the books on their shelves. I enjoy cracking the spine and getting that new book smell, even off tomes I have to blow an inch of dust off.) The point of a Trump-branded Bible is to use it like their Dear Leader does: As a photo prop, not something to turn to for guidance or wisdom.
The teachings of Jesus Christ were always a poor fit for Republicans. They're just way more into decimating Social Security than they are into loaves and fishes. What Trump offers when it comes to Christianity is what he offers his followers in every other aspect: permission to stop pretending to be good people. His gift to them is his shamelessness. Through Trump, his followers can realize their fantasies of being unapologetic bullies. This is the same schtick as MAGA members who claim to be "patriots" while attacking the rule of law and democracy. Trump tells them what they want to hear: You can be a Christian without compassion.
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Even before Trump's version of a "Bible" was being sold, his hollowed-out version of "faith" had cannibalized what was left of evangelical Christianity, which had already spent decades remaking itself as the culture war arm of the GOP. This is most easily tracked in the rise of churchless Christians. Over 40% of self-described evangelicals go to church once a year or less. Instead, as the New York Times reported, MAGA is basically their religion. Instead of prayer and Bible study, they "practice" their faith by watching Christian-branded online content that is, in actuality, just about right-wing politics.
But, even that number underplays how much Trumpism has displaced traditional theology in evangelical religion. In my report on the online Christian right, former evangelical minister Brad Onishi argued that churches themselves learned they must wholly embrace the views and rhetoric of the MAGA movement if they wish to keep their parishioners. For instance, the "churches that refused to shut down during COVID" are "booming," swelling from "from 100 people to 1000 people," while churches that behaved more responsibly often found themselves shutting down. "I do think it's making it more extreme. If you're not willing to go there as a pastor, you may lose your church," Onishi told Salon.
Replacing the real Bible with Trump Bibles is a too-perfect symbol of what has happened to evangelical Christianity. The mistake is in believing Trump's followers are confused or ashamed about their devotion to a godless creep who laughs at true believers. In Trump's hands, the Bible is not a text for prayer and reflection, it's just a weapon. It's much easier to beat people down with a book if it's closed.
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