Day 778: Trump autographs Bibles in Alabama
Donald Trump flew to Alabama Friday — before heading to Mar-a-Lago for yet another vacation at his private club — to survey the devastation left by last week’s tornadoes. The visit was supposed to be solemn. In addition to touring areas ravaged by the tornadoes, he would also be paying respects to the 23 left dead.
But he couldn’t make it through the couple hours he was in Alabama without making yet another bizarre misstep: he signed Bibles.
Trump’s religious knowledge is obviously extremely scarce. Despite laughably calling the Bible his favorite book, he couldn’t name a single verse from the Old Testament or the New Testament. Trump has also professed to being a regular churchgoer. However, that lie was easily debunked by the very church that he claimed he frequented.
During a televised interview with John Heilemann and Mark Halperin of Bloomberg Politics in August 2015, Halperin noted Trump’s frequent professions of fondness for Judeo-Christian scripture and said, “I’m wondering what one or two of your most favorite Bible verses are and why.”
“I wouldn’t want to get into it,” Trump said, “because to me that’s very personal. You know, when I talk about the Bible it’s very personal so I don’t want to get into verses. The Bible means a lot to me but I don’t want to get into specifics.”
“Are you an Old Testament guy or a New Testament guy?” Heilemann asked.
“Probably equal,” Trump said. “I think it’s just incredible, the whole Bible is incredible.”
Later that month at a news conference in South Carolina, he said “I am Presbyterian Protestant. I go to Marble Collegiate Church … as often as I can, a lot.”
Two problems with that. First, Marble Collegiate, on New York’s 5th Avenue, is a Reformed, not Presbyterian, church. And second, though the Trump family does have a history of attending Marble, officials there quickly sent a statement to CNN saying Trump “is not an active member.”
He touted “Two Corinthians” instead of “Second Corinthians,” as it’s properly cited before a group of Christian students at Liberty University, drawing unintended laughs.
Perhaps most importantly, he lives antithetical to religious teachings. He is multi-time adulterer, has admitted to coveting and wooing his friends’ wives, frequently lies and does nothing that shows even an ounce of humility.
But he relies on Evangelical voters to keep showing up and supporting him. And that fact means he’ll do or say anything to keep them on board.
Signing Bibles might be his most egregious religious misstep yet. Whether one is a believer or not is moot. Many people do believe in the Bible and it’s extraordinarily disrespectful to autograph copies, much less during a time when you’re supposed to be paying respects to an area trying to recover from deadly tornadoes.
But for Trump, it’s all about Trump, all the time.
778 days in, 684 to go
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