Against the backdrop of his public disagreement with Pope Leo XIV and controversy over an AI-generated image that seemed to show him as a Jesus-like figure, Donald Trump sat at his desk in the Oval Office and read from the Bible on camera.
Trump recorded a two-and-a-half-minute Bible reading at the White House. The video was played at the Museum of the Bible on Tuesday evening and also streamed online on the Pure Flix platform. He read from 2 Chronicles 7:11-22 as part of a week-long event called “America Reads the Bible” which is being held to mark 250 years of US independence.
Trump is one of nearly 500 people taking part in the event, which involves reading the entire Bible from beginning to end.
According to CNN, the passage Trump read is considered important and has often been used as a message for the Christian right in the US and around the world. It reads, “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”
The Pope row
The Bible reading happened at a tense time in Donald Trump’s relationship with the Catholic Church. Trump has been publicly disagreeing with Pope Leo XIV who criticized the US over the war with Iran. On Friday, Trump told reporters that he has “a right to disagree with the Pope,” as per BBC.
His comment came a day after the Pope, during a visit to Cameroon spoke against people who misuse religion. “Woe to those who manipulate religion and the very name of God for their own military, economic, and political gain, dragging that which is sacred into darkness and filth,” the Pope said.
According to reports, Trump has also made it clear that he does not plan to apologize, as both continue to disagree publicly over the Iran war.
Also Read: Mojtaba Khamenei warns US and Israel as Trump extends Iran ceasefire deadline; ‘New, bitter defeats…’
The AI Jesus controversy
The Bible reading also came just days after Trump faced criticism, even from some of his own supporters for posting an AI-generated image that appeared to show him as a Jesus-like figure healing people.
Also Read: Trump gets warned after posting Jesus hug AI photo; evangelical leader says ‘I am thankful’
He later deleted the post and said it “was me as a doctor and had to do with Red Cross.” He then shared another AI image showing Jesus hugging him, with the caption: “The Radical Left Lunatics might not like this, but I think it is quite nice!!!”
However, Bunni Pounds who leads the group that organized the event, said that Trump’s decision to remove the first post was “moving” and said the Bible reading had already been planned before the controversy.
“He’s so authentic and real, whether we like the things he says sometimes and the things we don’t like, that he wouldn’t have done it if he didn’t believe it,” Pounds told CNN.
🚨 BREAKING: Watch the full clip here ➤
