Trump's "Favorite Book"? How He Profited from Trump-Branded Bibles | Vanity Fair

Despite a long history of engaging in behavior that many Christians would likely object to—from blasphemy to lying to adultery—Donald Trump has managed to convince a not-insignificant number of supporters that he’s the Second Doming of Christ or, at the very least, anointed by God. And it was presumably those people who came out in droves to buy the Trump-branded bibles the ex-president start hawking last year, helping him turn a nice little profit that the big guy himself would have to smile upon.

Yes, according to newly released financial disclosures, Trump has so far made $300,000 on branded bibles that sell for $59.99 a pop, or $1,000 for one with his signature on it. The former president started pitching the bibles in March, telling his followers, “Happy Holy Week! Let’s Make America Pray Again. As we lead into Good Friday and Easter, I encourage you to get a copy of the God Bless the USA Bible.”

In June 2020, as racial justice protests swelled around the country, including in Washington, DC, Trump posed for a photo in front of a church holding up a Bible. Asked by a reporter, “Is that your Bible?” the then president responded, “It’s a Bible.” (The photo op was said to be Ivanka Trump’s idea.)

Not long before that, he declined during an interview to cite his favorite Bible verses, saying: “I wouldn’t want to get into it because to me that’s very personal…the Bible means a lot to me but I don’t want to get into specifics.” Asked if he was an “Old Testament guy or New Testament,” he responded: “Probably…equal. I think it’s just an incredible…the whole bible is an incredible—I joke, very much so, they always hold up the Art of the Deal, I say, ‘my second favorite book of all time.’”