President Donald Trump will virtually participate in the America Reads the Bible event Tuesday evening and read a passage from the Old Testament – roughly a week after he drew political allies’ ire by posting an AI-generated image of himself seemingly as Jesus.
The event, described as a celebration of America’s 250th anniversary, will feature a pre-recorded video of the president reading a passage from 2 Chronicles in which God promises to heal the nation through prayer.
His video is expected to air between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. ET.
“The Bible has been indelibly woven into our national identity and way of life,” Trump said in a statement ahead of the event.
Trump’s participation in the event comes at a contentious moment for himself and his Christian conservative base, who have recently seen the president compare himself to Jesus, use Easter Sunday to threaten to wipe out the Iranian civilization and criticize the pope for refusing to support his war in Iran.
Last week, Trump drew scrutiny from some of his allies after posting an AI-generated image of himself depicted as a Christ-like figure, wearing a white and red robe with rays of golden light in his hands as he touches the head of a sick man.
Despite the picture evoking elements of classic Christian imagery, the president insisted he thought the photo depicted him as a “doctor.” He had earlier deleted it.
That was after the president had told reporters he’s “not a big fan of Pope Leo,” after the pope said he was deeply concerned with the ongoing Middle East conflict and called for peaceful discussion rather than threats or weapons.
Trump interpreted Pope Leo’s calls for peace as a desire for Iran to have a nuclear weapon, despite the head of the Roman Catholic Church having been an outspoken opponent of nuclear weapons. The president insisted the pope is “a very liberal person.”
Earlier this month, some of Trump’s former allies expressed outrage after the president posted an aggressive message to Truth Social, threatening to strike Iran’s infrastructure, thus hurting its civilians.
America Reads the Bible is a marathon Bible-reading event in which more than 500 people will take turns reading passages from the Bible in chronological order.
Other Trump administration officials are participating, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.
Notably, the passage Trump is reading begins with God acknowledging the building of a Temple – an ironic parallel to the president’s recent attempts to build a White House ballroom and a triumphal arch.
Since returning to office, the president has sought to bolster Christianity in the United States, establishing an anti-Christian bias task force in the Justice Department, loosening tax rules on religious organizations to allow them to donate to political candidates and allowing federal employees to promote religion.
But at times, the administration has been accused of blurring the lines between church and state. Official departments have invoked Christianity in official social media posts, and top officials, such as Hegseth, have used Biblical stories or passages to justify decisions.
“The truths of Holy Scripture remained deeply embedded in our culture—not only within the walls of our churches but in our homes, schools, courtrooms, and public square,” Trump said in a statement.
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