Trump’s Bible verse answer resurfaces after pastor says he's better than the Pope
Topics: Donald Trump, Religion
William Morgan
Featured Image Credit: Kent Nishimura / AFP via Getty Images)
Topics: Donald Trump, Religion
Footage showing Donald Trump's confusing relationship with the Christianity has resurfaced after a pastor claimed the president had a better knowledge of the Bible than the Pope.
The claim comes after the president has caused major friction with the religious community in recent months, from sparring with the Pope, posting an AI image of himself as Jesus Christ, and issuing an expletive-filled threat to Iran - which he ended with 'praise be to Allah'.
But despite commanding around 80 percent of the Evangelical Christian vote in the 2024 election, President Trump has frequently displayed an unfamiliarity with the source text underpinning the whole religion.
There have been a number of these moments in the decade since Trump became the focal point of national politics, from pronouncing '2 Corinthians' wrong to struggling with the simple question, 'Whats your favorite Bible verse?'
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Speaking to Bloomberg on the campaign trail for his first term in office, Trump bizarrely dodged the question that many politicians are trained to answer. "I wouldn't want to get into it because to me that's very personal," he said.
"You know, when I talk about the Bible it's very personal."
The interviewer then tries to draw an easy answer out of the then-candidate, asking: "Are you an Old Testament guy or a New Testament guy?"
But once again, Trump, improbably, doesn't seem to have a strong opinion. He replied: "Uh, probably equal. think it’s just an incredible….the whole Bible is an incredible."
This interview resurfaced in response to an incredulous claim from MAGA-supporting pastor Robert Jeffress, who was defending the president's relationship with God after a 22-foot golden statue of Trump that was erected and blessed by a holy man.
He said: "It looks like President Trump has a better understanding of what the Bible teaches about the role of government than the Pope has."
Pastor Burns, who blessed the massive statue erected on one of Trump's golf courses in Florida, also felt the need to defend the president, and himself, after claims that the golden monument was an act of idolatry.
"Let me be clear: this is not a golden calf," Burn said, adding: “This statue is a celebration of life. It is a symbol of resilience, freedom, patriotism, strength, and the will power to keep fighting for the future of America.”
But with his Christian credentials in question, Trump has attempted to reaffirm his religious support in recent weeks. At the end of April, the president released a video from the Oval Office, where he read a verse from '2 Chronicles' that is popular on the right.
Reading from a teleprompter but with his hands resting on a Bible, Trump quoted: “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”
This may be a hopeful turn for the president, who at the end of 2025 said: "I don't think there's anything going to get me in heaven... I think I'm not maybe heaven-bound."