Reverend Al Sharpton has described Donald Trump's sale of God Bless the USA Bibles during Holy Week as "a spit in the face of people wo really believe" in the Christian holy text.
The Baptist minister and veteran civil rights activist made the remark during an appearance on MSNBC's Morning Joe program on March 28.
Trump has faced a backlash from some Christians since promoting the $59.99 Lee Greenwood–themed Bible in a three-minute video posted on his Truth Social account on March 26. Evangelical Christians form a key part of the coalition Trump hopes will return him to the White House in November's election.
Referring to Trump's Bible sales on Morning Joe, Sharpton said: "People ought to realize how offensive this is to those of us that really believe in the Bible. He's doing this during Holy Week. I mean, tomorrow is Good Friday. Sunday is Easter.
"Of all of the times you want to hustle using the Bible, why would you do it during Holy Week, which is really a spit in the face of people that really believe in the Bible from a Christian point of view.
"I wonder how many ministers or conservative evangelicals that will go to their pulpit tomorrow or on Sunday Easter using the Trump Bible. They ought to be defrocked if they would even try and act like this is nothing but what it is, and that's a hustle."
"People [should] realize how offensive this is to those of us that really believe in the Bible."
— Morning Joe (@Morning_Joe) March 28, 2024
— @TheRevAl on Trump selling $60 Bibles https://t.co/ScsXaYcQ9U pic.twitter.com/WMkGTWsP5W
Sharpton also said the incident made him question the commitment of Evangelical Christians who didn't condemn Trump's behavior.
"For those in the Evangelical community not to come out and say, 'Wait a minute, during Holy Week, that's a step too far,' makes us wonder where their commitment really is," he said.
Newsweek has contacted representatives of Donald Trump's 2024 presidential election campaign for comment by email.
According to its website, the God Bless the USA Bible uses the translation in the King James Version. The Bible comes with a handwritten copy of the chorus to Greenwood's "God Bless the USA" and copies of the Constitution, Bill of Rights, Declaration of Independence and Pledge of Allegiance, the website added.
While promoting the Bible in the Truth Social video, Trump said: "It's very important and very important to me. I want to have a lot of people have it. You have to have it for your heart, for your soul."
"It's a very sad thing that's going on in our country. But we're gonna get it turned around. Religion and Christianity are the biggest things missing from this country," he added.
Speaking to Newsweek, Sarafina Chitika, a senior spokesperson for Joe Biden's 2024 reelection campaign, accused Trump of being "a fraud" who had spent his presidency "screwing over the middle class."
Chitika said: "The last time the American people saw Donald Trump hold up a Bible, it was for a photo op after he tear-gassed American citizens demonstrating against white supremacy.
"He can't be bothered to leave Mar-a-Lago to meet with actual voters but found the time to hawk bootleg sneakers, sell cheap perfume, and promote his 'new' product to line his own pockets. It's classic Donald Trump, a fraud who has spent his life scamming people and his presidency screwing over the middle class and cutting taxes for his rich friends."
Th spokesperson appeared to be referencing an incident on June 1, 2020, when then-President Trump was pictured holding a Bible outside St. John's Episcopal Church after tear gas was used to disperse Black Lives Matter demonstrators in Lafayette Square. A June 2021 report from the Interior Department's inspector general concluded the removal of demonstrators from the square was a preplanned operation arranged by the U.S. Park Police.
In response to Trump's Bible sales, Ron Filipkowski, a former federal prosecutor and frequent critic of Trump, posted a video on X mocking the former president's "vast and extensive knowledge of the Bible."
The video included a clip from 2015 in which Trump declined to name his favorite Bible verse and compared the book to a "great, incredible movie."
He added, "You'll see it once, you'll see it 20 times, and every time you'll appreciate it more."
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James Bickerton is a Newsweek U.S. News reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is covering U.S. politics and world ... Read more
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