On Tuesday, we learned that former President Donald Trump, who is the presumptive 2024 GOP presidential nominee, would be selling Bibles along with “God Bless the USA” singer Lee Greenwood.
As noted by several media outlets, it was a Bible Greenwood intended to publish in 2021 but which got put on hold for various reasons:
The pair is selling a custom version of the Bible for $59.99, called the “God Bless the USA Bible,” which was previously announced in 2021 by Greenwood but then fell to the wayside after hitting snafus with publishing.
“All Americans need a Bible in their home, and I have many. It’s my favorite book,” Trump said in a video posted on social media “It’s a lot of peoples’ favorite book.”
“We have to bring Christianity back into our lives and into what will be again a great nation,” Trump said. “Our Founding Fathers did a tremendous thing when they built America on Judeo-Christian values. Now that foundation is under attack, perhaps as never before.”
Some of those same media outlets, as we noted at the time, also got in some chuckling and mockery at Trump’s expense, with some of the more panicked types warning that it was further evidence of a coming Trump “theocracy” or whatever.
READ: Smug CNN Gang Laughs It Up Over ‘Trump Bible’ Before Warning It’s Proof of Coming Trump Theocracy
Before we get to Rev. Al Sharpton’s remarks, here’s what the Greenwood Bible looks like:
Trump.
— Chris Randolph (@TrumpAF2024) March 28, 2024
Lee Greenwood.
God bless the USA, Bible.
The recipe for the Great American Comeback. pic.twitter.com/bVnSGCfOqu
On the Thursday broadcast of “Morning Joe,” Sharpton poured on the fauxtrage during the solemn segment, noting that Trump was “doing this during Holy Week,” calling it a Bible “hustle.”
“Of all the times you want to hustle,” Sharpton proclaimed, doing it on the week of Good Friday and just before Easter was a “spit in the face” for people who “really believe in the Bible.”
Sharpton also wondered how many conservative pastors would be “using the Trump Bible” in their upcoming sermons, saying if they did so they “oughta be defrocked.” He also said that anyone in the Evangelical community not speaking out on this makes him “wonder where their commitment is.”
Watch:
"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
The so-called “Trump Bible” is something that is also being hotly debated in conservative circles, with some condemning him for allegedly using proceeds from sales of the Bible to help pay for his legal expenses while others have pointed to a page on Greenwood’s Bible site that notes in the FAQ section that the site is not affiliated with the Trump campaign and “is not owned, managed or controlled by Donald J. Trump, The Trump Organization, CIC Ventures LLC or any of their respective principals or affiliates.”
It does, however, state that it “uses Donald J. Trump’s name, likeness and image under paid license from CIC Ventures LLC, which license may be terminated or revoked according to its terms.”
CIC Ventures LLC is “a company that Trump reported owning in his 2023 financial disclosure,” according to the AP.
I think reasonable people can respectfully agree or disagree as to the wisdom (or lack thereof) of this venture. Though I have no problems with politicians wearing their faith on their sleeves, I confess to being a little uncomfortable with anything that gives off the appearance of using religion and faith as a crass commodity to be bought and sold and manipulated in one way or the other, no matter who is doing it.
And that brings me back to Al Sharpton. Of all the people MSNBC could have brought on to lecture about “hustling” and allegedly making a mockery of the Bible, it was Sharpton, who has used his status as a “reverend” as a battering ram over the years to claim absolute moral authority in all matters, including on issues like abortion, which he has tried to claim does not run afoul of the Bible’s teachings:
By all means, MSNBC… keep putting Rev. Al on the air to talk about the Bible. https://t.co/NbyCYrIQOo pic.twitter.com/UPwEo7W5aW
— Joe Concha (@JoeConchaTV) March 28, 2024
Further, as we’ve documented before, Sharpton is infamous in NYC circles for inciting deadly race riots, engaging in antisemitism, and foisting racially-tinged rape hoaxes on the American populace. These are things over which he has never apologized, and has never been called to account for by the same political party and media that have canceled Republican politicos for saying/doing much less.
So while Trump’s critics on the left (and some on the right) would say that it’s not the message but the messenger that is so bothersome about this partnership with Greenwood, the same holds true for Sharpton in terms of the message, a man from whom Americans should take advice on or about like the 12th of Never.
Flashback: Al Sharpton Hears About It After Telling Black Trump Supporters They Have ‘No Shame’
