Pope downplays controversy, says debate with Trump is ‘not in my interest’
Pope Leo downplayed his feud with President Trump, saying reports about Trump’s commentary were “inaccurate in every way.”
President Donald Trump will read Old Testament passages from the Oval Office this week during a week-long Bible reading event.
President Trump is scheduled to read 2 Chronicles 7:11-22 on Tuesday, April 21, as part of “America Reads the Bible,” a national scripture reading week held in conjunction with the 250th anniversary of America’s founding. According to America Lies the Bible’s website, the event serves as a “spiritual celebration of our nation’s founding ideals and a call to rediscover the truths that are fundamental to who we are today.”
President Trump’s reading will take place on April 21st from 6:00pm to 7:00pm ET and will be available via livestream on the America Reads the Bible website and the Great American Pure Flix app. The White House confirmed President Trump’s involvement in the April 20 reading to USA TODAY.
In an April 17 statement, the president said, “I commend all Americans who are participating in the Bible reading movement.” “Together, we will celebrate the Bible, renew our faith, lead a historic religious revival on American soil, and rededicate America as one nation under God.”
Trump’s participation announcement came after he and Pope Leo XIV clashed over an AI-generated image of Jesus Christ that appears to be the president. The image sparked a week-long exchange of comments between the two celebrities.
When will President Trump read the Bible at the American Bible Lectionary?
President Trump is scheduled to read from 2 Chronicles 7:11-22 on Tuesday, April 21st from 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm ET.
How to watch President Trump read the Bible during America’s Bible Reading
President Trump’s reading will be available via livestream on the website America Reads the Bible and on the free Pure Flix app, Great Americans Media’s faith and family streaming service. To listen on the America Reads the Bible website, you must fill out the free registration form at pureflix.com/america-reads-the-bible-register.
Trump’s reading will be via video message, but tickets for the in-person “Read the American Bible” event at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C., can be purchased online. Day tickets are $50 and include admission to the museum.
Can I watch President Trump for free during “Read the American Bible”?
Watching America Reads the Bible livestream is free. The in-person event will be ticketed, but Trump will read from the Bible in a video message.
What is 2 Chronicles 7:11-22?
According to Bible Gateway, the full text of the Bible read by President Trump is as follows.
11 So Solomon completed the house of the Lord and the house of the king. And Solomon succeeded in all that he set in his heart to do in the house of the Lord and in his own house.
12 And the Lord appeared to Solomon by night, and said, “I have heard your prayer, and I have chosen this place for myself as a house of sacrifice.”
13 If I shut up the sky so that it does not rain, or command locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among the people;
14 If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways. Then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sins and heal their land.
15 Now my eyes will be opened and my ears will listen to the prayers that are made in this place.
16 For now, I have chosen this house and consecrated it. So that my name will be there forever. And my eyes and my heart will be there forever.
17 And if you will walk before me, as David your father walked, and obey all that I have commanded you, keeping my statutes and my judgments;
18 Then I will establish myself on the throne of your kingdom, just as I swore to your father David. “No one will fail you as ruler of Israel.”
19 But if you turn away and forsake My statutes and commandments, which I have set before you, and go and serve other gods and worship them;
20 Then I will uproot them from my land, which I have given them. And I will drive out this house, which I have sanctified to my name, from my eyes, and make it a proverb and a byword among all nations.
twenty one And this house is expensive, so everyone who passes by will be surprised. As he says, “Why has the Lord done this to this land and this house?”
twenty two And he will answer, “Because they forsook the LORD, the God of their fathers, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and took hold of other gods, and worshiped them, and served them; therefore God brought upon them all these evils.”
Other political leaders joining America also read the Bible
In addition to Trump, take a look at other political figures who are participating in “America Leaves the Bible.” According to the group’s news release,
- US Secretary of State Marco Rubio
- Scott Turner, U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
- Brooke Rollins, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture
- Doug Burgum, US Secretary of the Interior
- Doug Collins, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
- Pete Hegseth, US Secretary of Defense
- Susie Wiles, White House Chief of Staff
- Kevin Hassett National Economic Council Director
- Vincent Haley, Director, White House Domestic Policy Council
- Paula White-Cain, Senior Advisor, White House Office of Faith
- Jenny Cohn, Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of Faith in the White House Office of Faith
Contributor: Bart Jansen, USA TODAY
Greta Cross is USA TODAY’s national trends reporter. Story ideas? Email her at gcross@usatoday.com.
