There’s a secret message embedded in Trump's Bible-reading stunt

President Donald Trump this week read passages from the Bible at a public event, and according to the Religious News Service, the choice of verses revealed a secret message, providing "red meat" to his "Christian nationalist" followers.

Despite the fact that Trump, as the outlet noted, "personally avoids church" and has questionable religious bona fides, he continues to try and sell himself as a leader for evangelical Christians. On Tuesday, he took part in the launch of the weeklong "America Reads the Bible" project at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C., reading through "a few verses on... from 2 Chronicles 7."

The selection of this portion from the Bible, Baptist minister Brian Kaylor argued in his piece for RNS, was "not a coincidence," as it contains a verse, number 14, that has long been "a favorite among those pushing to codify Christianity into public life and government."

"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 verse reads, as it appears in the "Easy Reading" edition of the King James version of the Bible, which Trump used at the event.

"So, why 2 Chronicles 7:14 for Trump?" Kaylor asked. "There’s a long tradition of presidents and preachers invoking the verse for 'God and country' vibes."

He continued: "Stripped of its context of a covenantal promise God made to King Solomon and his descendants at the dedication of the Temple, the verse has been applied to the United States by preachers and politicians for decades. In this retelling, the United States became the new Israel, Americans the new chosen people. Yet, that’s not a faithful application of the text. With apologies to Carly Simon, we’re so vain we think this verse is about us. After all, 2 Chronicles was written centuries after Solomon to people returning home from exile after being defeated and enslaved by a foreign power. The verse is a reminder to those on the bottom that God is still with them, and therefore not a wave-the-flag-pep-rally chant for the powerful who control the global empire."

The verse has maintained popularity among those pushing for the U.S. to be designated as a fully Christian nation, as, "If the verse can be applied to this nation, then it justifies efforts to force governmental declarations of the Christian faith." This is also not its first appearance at an event connected to the second Trump administration, as it was also read by House Chaplain Margaret Kibben "in her prayer to open the House on the day of Trump’s second inauguration," to which she added, "God Bless America."

"Framing Trump’s return to the White House as a sign of a coming national revival, this verse for MAGA preachers serves to endorse not just a generic American Christian nationalism but one that centers Trump as the new King Solomon," Kaylor continued. "That’s why Bunni Pounds, the lead organizer of the 'America Reads the Bible' effort, saved this verse for Trump. She told Fox News Digital that she realized 'this is such a critical passage for the body of Christ,' so she wanted the president to read it as a way of highlighting this verse above all others."

“I think he’s sending a message that faith matters in this country, and that it’s important not only personally, but for our nation overall,” Pounds said during her Fox appearance. “I believe the president’s saying that by reading this Scripture specifically.”

"How can 'we the people' be God’s chosen people humbling ourselves and turning from our wicked ways simply by Trump reading a verse?" Kaylor asked. "It’s the logical fallacy of Christian nationalists, especially when centered on a profane politician they view as, in the words of Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, 'almost the second coming' of Jesus. While Trump reads 2 Chronicles 7:14 after starting his feud with the pope and sharing that image of himself as AI Doctor Jesus, I’ll instead recall the words of the old proverb that Jesus even quoted: 'Physician, heal thyself.'"