My late-night adventure with the Trump bible
My late-night adventure with the Trump bible
When a Trump-grift mystery and too much Vyvanse meet: Think China.
A few nights back, I heard about the Trump bible. Or rather, the God Bless the USA Bible, as it is actually named. The brainchild of “God Bless the USA” songwriter Lee Greenwood and endorsed in a creepy video by Donald Trump, it includes the decidedly non-doctrinal U.S. Constitution, Declaration of Independence, Pledge of Allegiance and the chorus of, you guessed it, “God Bless the USA.”
I had a couple questions — specifically, who the publisher was and what version of the bible they were using, and since I had accidentally taken my ADHD medication too late in the day and expected to be up all night, I decided to put my rabbit-hole-attuned brain to good use.
I found the answer to the latter question quickly: The King James version.
Which is curious. I knew from my two attempts at evangelicalism in my late teens and mid-twenties that the New International Version (NIV) was preferred by evangelicals, who I assume are the God Bless the USA Bible’s primary targetscustomers. As it turns out, when Greenwood first pitched the bible in 2021, he was using the NIV, but after pushback from Christian authors with HarperCollins — the North American licensor of the NIV — the publisher said it would not be involved.
Whether a deal ever existed or Greenwood announced it before figuring out fiddly details like copyright is unclear. A rep for the publisher told the Tennessean (Greenwood lives outside Nashville) that it was asked for a manufacturing quote but had never agreed to anything. A rep for Elite Source Pro, the marketing company working with Greenwood, at first told the Tennessean it had a manufacturing agreement with the publisher. Later, the rep said the decision to scrap it was mutual and expressed confusion over concerns the Trump Bible was an example of dangerous Christian nationalism.
“They feel that it’s sacrilegious to put all that within two covers. It’s got separation pages,” the rep said. They would be moving forward with the public-domain the KJV and a new manufacturer, though he wouldn’t say with who.
Two years later, the publisher remains a mystery. Elite Source Pro is no longer involved, and Greenwood’s publicist declined to tell the Tennessean who the songwriter was working with now.
Surely that info could be found on the bible’s website, right?
Here’s a list of things you will find on godblesstheusabible.com:
This bible is large-print and easy to read.
It has a slim design, a gold ribbon and gold gilding.
It is the perfect gift.
The pages may be sticky, but you can find Youtube videos on how to fix that.
It is the only bible “endorsed by President Trump!”
A prototype has been placed in the hands of a number of right-wing celebrities, including Tomi Lahren and Travis Tritt.
It may take 4-6 weeks for delivery.
“All sales from godblesstheusabible.com are final.”
Things you will not learn:
If the cover is real or synthetic leather.
Who is pocketing your $59.99.
Who is actually making the bibles.
The website domain was registered by GoDaddy to an unknown client. The website says fulfillment is being handled in “Gulf Shores, Alabama, by a Veteran owned and operated company” but doesn’t name the company. Questions and complaints go to support@godtheblesstheusabible.com, so no clues there.
This sent me on an hours-long dive into veteran-owned businesses in southern Alabama. I looked at logistics companies, and the social accounts of their owners. Nothing. I learned that Gulf Shores was once the home of the Discount Bible Factory Outlet, which appears to no longer exist.
I also looked at veteran-owned printing shops and their owners, on the theory that the delivered product might be a bit slapdash, like that one time I ordered Tolstoy’s “The Kingdom of God Is Within You” off Amazon and got a poorly glued photocopy with no margins. Nothing.
I know what you’re thinking, and yes, there is least one bible manufacturer and several custom bible printers in China. As it turns out, a good chunk of America’s bibles are made in China, but whether that includes the God Bless the USA Bible, well, none of them have gotten back to me to confirm or deny.
There are custom bible printers in the US, like this one in Texas, but their handcrafted bibles are decidedly not available for the low, low price of $59.99. (It also seems unlikely to me that an American manufacturer would be kept so assiduously secret.)
I was tempted to purchase my own copy to yield more clues, but, no longer having access to a legacy-media budget, I guessed (rightly) that my spouse would not appreciate this purchase for our family.
This was about when the sun started to come up and I abandoned my quest.
A week later, it doesn’t appear any news orgs have solved the mystery (please let me know if you see anything!). But on Tuesday, the Christian Youtuber Tim Wildsmith received his copy, well ahead of the 4-6 week timeframe, in an unmarked package.
It is not genuine leather, he said, and it feels “pretty fake and cheap,” the type of bible you would get at Walmart for $14.99, which, coincidentally, is how much extra he had to pay for shipping. The typesetting is hard to read, the red letters are a faded pink, and the sticky pages in the back ripped the Constitution. There is an ISBN number but no copyright page.
“A lot of bibles like this are printed in China,” he said. “And I would be shocked if Donald Trump was promoting a bible that was printed and bound in China.”
That makes one of us, brother.