What’s he selling this week?
More gold sneakers? Trump Steaks? Wine? Trump Cologne? A new casino? Reverse mortgages? No, this time the pitchman-in-chief has set his sights higher, as high as you can go, all the way to Heaven.
“It’s my favorite book,” said Donald J. Trump last Tuesday while holding a copy of Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA Bible” in a video posted on his Truth Social page.
Wait a second? Donald Trump, a bible salesman? Isn’t that like casting Danny DeVito in “The Lebron James Story?” Perhaps, but given how many times Trump has had to put his hand on a Bible in court, maybe some of it soaked in through osmosis?
The late-night Jimmys are all over it. SNL as well. 20 million memes were sent flying across the web. The guy on trial for paying hush money to a porn star is actually pimping Bibles? It’s beyond parody.
And it’s brilliant.
Donald Trump knows exactly what he’s doing. The more his haters pile on, the deeper his supporters dig in, including digging deeper into their wallets to support Mr. Trump’s campaign and help pay off the gazillions in legal judgments issued against him. By welding the MAGA movement to Christianity and patriotism, Trump has thrown down the gauntlet: only Jesus-rejecting, Founding Father-hating heathens could object to a limited-edition King James version of the Word of God with the United States Constitution, Pledge of Allegiance, and lyrics to Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA” thrown in, all for just $59.99.
It’s unclear if the former President is getting a percentage of sales, but his face is plastered all over Greenwood’s website, making Donald Trump the Mike Lindell of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Still, whatever coin he is or isn’t getting from the Good Book, he will more than make up for in donations as the 2024 campaign continues down the apocalyptic path it’s heading. How long before “Trump/Christ ’24” stickers start popping up?
While DJT hawking Bibles might be anathema to non-Christians, agnostics, atheists, and Separation of Church and State purists, his “God Bless the USA” pitch is pitch perfect for his Christian Nationalist base— the staunchest of his supporters, despite his lifetime of un-Christ-like behavior.
The shark jumped when Trump’s disciples started bringing Bibles to his rallies for him to autograph, as if the Bible is a foul ball they caught in the stands. I would think a real Christian would refuse to desecrate the Word of God.
In fairness, Donald Trump is hardly the first politician to fish in Holy waters.
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The melding of politics and religion is as old as politics and religion. Both Right and Left use scripture to pitch their products. The slaveocracy and abolitionists invoked the Bible to justify or condemn slavery. Ministers were in the vanguard of the civil rights movement led by the Reverend Ralph Abernathy, the Reverend Al Sharpton, and the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. Jesse Jackson ran for President. Recently, the Supreme Court unsettled the settled law that was Roe v. Wade, the fruit of 50-years of religious-based Right to Life advocacy.
The horrors of September 11th saw all Muslims painted with the same broad, bloody brush of terrorism, making them low hanging fruit for demagogues pandering for votes. Today, the war in Gaza has shoved American Jews into the center of a debate over U.S. policy in the Middle East, while subjecting them to a chilling antisemitic backlash.
Mr. Trump recently told former aide Sebastian Gorka, “Any Jewish person that votes for Democrats hates their religion.” In his three-minute endorsement video of the “God Bless the USA Bible” Trump in essence told his supporters a vote for Joe Biden is a vote against Christianity. Trump concluded his Bible pitch with a twist on his “Make America Great Again” slogan: “Make America pray again” said Mr. Trump, as if anyone has the power to stop us from praying.
I know, because I’ve never prayed more than I do today.
Doug McIntyre’s column appears Sundays. He can be reached at: Doug@DougMcIntyre.com.
