Donald Trump's Bibles Relentlessly Mocked by 'SNL'

Saturday Night Live has mocked former president Donald Trump over his new fundraising initiative, which is selling Bibles.

Saturday's episode, hosted by Ramy Youssef, began with James Austin Johnson as Trump saying that it's Easter, the "time of year when I compare myself to Jesus Christ."

He adds: "That's just a thing I do now and people seem to be OK with it. I'm gonna keep doing it. And if you think that this is a bad look, imagine how weird it would be if I started selling Bibles. Well, I'm selling Bibles."

The former president has urged his supporters to buy the God Bless the USA Bible; the title of which is inspired by country singer Lee Greenwood's patriotic ballad of the same name. The book, which is priced at $59.99, includes the U.S. Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the Declaration of Independence, the Pledge of Allegiance and the handwritten chorus to God Bless the USA.

The venture comes as the Republican attempts to match President Joe Biden's fundraising numbers ahead of the November election.

"While Joe Biden and Democrats continue to put up historic grassroots fundraising numbers, Donald Trump and the RNC are in financial disarray," Jaime Harrison, leader of the Democratic National Committee, told ABC News earlier in March. "Our grassroots supporters know that the stakes of this year could not be higher, and they're chipping in like our democracy is on the line—because it is."

Trump spokesman Steven Cheung told Newsweek this week that those outraged by the venture "are Never Trump idiots suffering from a severe case of Trump Derangement Syndrome."

"As you know, I love Bible," Johnson's Trump says on SNL. "It's my favorite book. I've definitely read it. My favorite part is probably the ending, how it all wraps up.

"But this is a very special Bible, and it can be yours for the high price of $60."

Johnson's Trump goes on to say that he is not "doing this for the money."

He adds: "I'm doing this for the glory of God, and for pandering, and mostly for money."

The book that is "even better," he says, "comes with everything you like from [the] Bible, like the story of Easter, which primarily concerns Jesus, not so much the bunny. I kept waiting for the bunny to show up."

The Bible contains "beautiful" illustrations, including one where Trump's head is superimposed on a more athletic body in the Garden of Eden.

The book "also includes Constitution and Pledge of Allegiance and, I don't know, maybe Miranda rights."

Trump's latest venture was also mocked during the Weekend Update segment of SNL.

"Four presidents visited New York City at the same time on Thursday, three to do a joint fundraiser at Radio City and one selling Bibles door-to- door," Colin Jost joked.

Jost added that Trump partnered with Greenwood to sell the special edition of the Bible that also includes the Constitution, the lyrics to Greenwood's "God Bless the USA, "and I assume, God's letter of resignation."

Trump's version, he said, "ends with Jesus' disciples storming Jerusalem to overturn the results of the crucifixion" in a reference to the riot at the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters on January 6, 2021.

Social media users praised the sketch.

SNL "mocked Trump and his Bible grift in a perfect way," Harry Sisson, a content creator who has been promoting Biden's message on social media, wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

Democratic strategist Adam Parkhomenko wrote that SNL was "not messing around tonight."

However, others were less enthused about the cold open.

"I hadn't fully computed how tired I am of most Trump 'satire' until tuning into SNL tonight for the first time in ages," Matt Brennan, a deputy editor at the Los Angeles Times, wrote on X.

"Very few outlets—least of all this one—can manage comedy about the guy that doesn't feel half-cuddly."

Another person wrote: "Why are they still doing Trump stuff on SNL? Don't they realize it's not funny?"