‘Political stunt’: Critics slam Trump’s reading of a Bible passage one week after posting AI image of himself as Jesus

Supporters praised the Republican president for reminding Americans ‘who we are as a nation’
Donald Trump has participated in a Bible-reading marathon a week after posting an AI image of himself as Jesus , reciting a passage from the Old Testament in a pre-recorded video filmed in the Oval Office.

Critics slammed the scripture reading as a blatant “political stunt,” while supporters praised the Republican president for reminding Americans “who we are as a nation.”
It comes as the Trump administration is fueling a religious resurgence in the federal bureaucracy .

Since the president returned to office, federal workers have been inundated with proselytizing emails and invitations to worship services.

And senior officials have repeatedly invoked their Christian faith in policy discussions.

The president has also sparred with Pope Leo over the Catholic pontiff’s staunch opposition to the Iran war.

On Tuesday evening, the 79-year-old president read from 2 Chronicles 7:11–22 — a section of scripture that has long been quoted by those who believe the U.S.

was founded as a Christian nation.

“And the Lord appeared to Solomon by night and said to him, I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place to myself for a house of sacrifice,” Trump said during his roughly three-minute address.

“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,” the president, seated behind the Resolute Desk, continued.

The recitation is part of “America Reads the Bible,” a weeklong scripture-reading event featuring more than 500 participants, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Republican Senators Ted Cruz and Joni Ernst.

Organizers billed it as a "spiritual celebration of our nation’s founding ideals and a call to rediscover the truth that still anchors us today," according to the America Reads the Bible website.

“I applaud every citizen participating in the America Reads the Bible initiative,” the president said last week.

“Together, we will honor Holy Scripture, renew our faith, usher in a historic resurgence of religion on American shores and rededicate the United States as one Nation under God.”
Social media quickly erupted with a range of reactions, with a number of users expressing heartfelt appreciation.

“This is what leadership looks like,” one X user wrote.

“A president who isn’t ashamed to read the Bible in public and remind us who we are as a nation.”
“May God Bless what Trump is doing,” another chimed in.

“In contrast…Biden honored gays.”
Bunni Pounds, the founder of Christians Engaged, the group that organized the project, also offered up praise.

“It’s a powerful statement that he decided to read that passage,” she told The Associated Press .

Many of the comments, though, were far more skeptical of the president’s beliefs and motives.

“Anyone actually believe Trump has read the Bible?

Even just one book?

Of course not,” one X user wrote.

“Ha ha, first time for everything,” one added, while another decried the reading as a “political stunt.”
Brian Kaylor, author of “The Bible According to Christian Nationalists: Exploiting Scripture for Political Power,” rejected the popular interpretation that Trump’s passage is relevant to the U.S.

political project.

“This verse is not about the United States,” Kaylor told The Associated Press .

It is “a promise made to one particular person in one particular moment.

It doesn’t really work to pull it out of context and apply it to whatever you want to.”
Broader emphasis on Christianity
The billionaire president has long cast himself as Christianity’s unrivaled defender.

In 2021, he told a radio host that "nobody has done more for Christianity or for evangelicals or for religion itself than I have.” In 2024, he began selling Trump-branded Bibles .

Since returning to office, Trump has enacted a series of changes that have fueled a resurgence of religion within the federal government.

In February 2025, he established several faith-based offices across the government, including the White House Faith Office, headed by televangelist Paula White-Cain — who has compared the president to Jesus.

And, in July 2025, the Office of Personnel Management released a memo permitting federal workers to “encourage” peers to “to participate in religious expressions of faith, such as prayer.”
Since then, employees across multiple agencies and departments have received proselytizing emails, invitations to worship services in government buildings and observed religious undertones in high-profile policy decisions.

The integration of religion — specifically Evangelical Christianity — into government operations has been most evident at the Department of Defense.

During a service in March, shortly after the outbreak of the Iran war, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth implored God: “Let every round find its mark against the enemies of righteousness and our great nation.”
Since the Middle East conflict began, the administration has also found itself at odds with Pope Leo, the leader of the Catholic church, who has repeatedly condemned the war.

Last weekend, Trump fired off a striking 334‑word post on Truth Social in which he branded the pope “terrible” on foreign policy and claimed that the pontiff is fine with Iran possessing a nuclear weapon.

Shortly after, Trump posted an AI-generated image appearing to portray himself as Jesus healing a sick man.

In response to bipartisan criticism, the president deleted the post and said he thought it depicted him as a doctor , not the Christian savior.

For his part, the pope has said he will not be silenced .

“I will continue to speak out loudly against war, looking to promote peace, promoting dialogue and multilateral relationships among the states to look for just solutions to problems,” Leo, the first U.S.-born Bishop of Rome, said last week.

“Too many people are suffering in the world today,” he continued.

“Too many innocent people are being killed.

And I think someone has to stand up and say there’s a better way.”
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