In Our Opinion: Trump’s Bibles are a scam of religious hypocrisy

Donald Trump seems to spend a lot of time, effort and money trying to persuade people in new and more desperate ways that he is God’s gift to mankind.

His latest ploy relies on none other but the Almighty himself: the former president is licensing his name to a special “God Bless the USA” Bible for the low, low price of $59.99. A special edition will also get you copies of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the Declaration of Independence, the Pledge of Allegiance and lyrics to the MAGA anthem “God Bless the USA” by Lee Greenwood.

It represents a confluence of church and state that would make the Founding Fathers roll over in their graves.

It’s the latest example of Trump attempting to con his followers into something that he clearly doesn’t believe in himself. This snake oil salesman act has little to do with faith and everything to do with winning desperate, vulnerable people to his side. It’s also the latest example of his co-opting of Christian values to further his agenda of vindictiveness and supposed martyrdom.

While everyone knows about Trump’s professed desire to “Make America Great Again,” his recent messages have included the push to “Make America Pray Again.” He’s also increasingly resorted to using terms like “persecution” in public in reference to his ever-increasing list of legal problems.

Despite this country being founded on the principle of the separation of church and state, many are viewing Trump’s use of religion as a proxy tool in the ongoing culture wars that he goes out of his way to stoke on a daily basis.

All of this is done to appeal to Trump’s electoral base, a significant portion of which is steeped in Christian nationalism.

According to the Public Religion Research Institute, more than 30% of Americans tend to be sympathetic to Christian nationalism when it’s defined as believing that the United States was meant by God to be a Christian nation. This notion is more prevalent in Republican-leaning states like North Dakota and Mississippi, where roughly half of the population is sympathetic to the aforementioned idea. Those in favor of Christian nationalism are also more likely to be in favor of the justification of political violence, according to PRRI polling.

Donald Trump is fully aware that many of his supporters believe that America was meant to be a Christian nation and that in supporting him, they are supporting a spiritual war waged in the name of taking back a morally bankrupt nation from an anti-American and anti-Christian “deep state.”

The ultimate irony is that all of this is done in the name of a man who has lived a thoroughly un-Christian life of infidelity, deceit and a lack of humility or common decency.

These Bibles are only the latest example of Trump’s attempts to swindle those willing to listen to what he has to say. His name was all over a set of golden sneakers dubbed “Never Surrender High-Tops” emblazoned with an American Flag and sold for $399, courtesy of a company named 45Footwear LLC.

And who can forget the halcyon days of Trump University, a business school brainchild of the former president that culminated in the defrauding of students and multiple lawsuits.

Donald Trump isn’t alone in promoting his greatness through literature. Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee’s company EverBright Media produced a children’s book titled “The Kids Guide to President Trump” that extolls the benefits of Trump’s presidency and his unwillingness to kowtow to political correctness.

While most Americans believe in the separation of church and state, there is a divide over what type of role the Bible should play in everyday life.

According to the Pew Research Center, 49% of Americans believe the Bible should have some sort of influence on U.S. lawmaking, with two-thirds of that support coming from Republicans.

This all comes in the midst of a general move away from organized religion in America. According to the PRRI, the only major denomination that is growing in the U.S. today is “unaffiliated.”

People are free to spend their money on whatever they want. But to give money for a religious text decorated in American flags like a race car is to give in to the base hypocrisy of those who conflate religion with patriotism.