Donald Trump will deliver a televised Bible reading from the Oval Office on 21 April, in what organisers describe as a carefully chosen role for the president in a national 'America Reads The Bible' event, as the White House scrambles to shore up his standing with Christian supporters angered by his recent clash with Pope Leo XIV and an AI image of Trump as Jesus.
The president has been locked in a very public dispute with Pope Leo over his prosecution of the war in Iran, a conflict the pontiff has repeatedly denounced as an 'unjust war.' A fresh poll by Shaw & Company Research and Beacon Research now indicates that a majority of Catholics disapprove of Trump amid the row, suggesting the political cost of defying the Vatican is beginning to register.
Under the plan announced by organisers, Trump will appear in a pre-recorded video message during the 6pm EST hour as part of the week-long 'America Reads The Bible' project, which marks 250 years of the Bible in the United States. Nearly 500 readers are expected to take turns working sequentially from Genesis to Revelation.
The president's segment will be 2 Chronicles 7:11–22, a passage that includes one of the most quoted verses in American public life: 'If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray... then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.'
Faith And Politics Collide Around Donald Trump
Bunni Pounds, founder and president of the advocacy group Christians Engaged, said Trump was not randomly assigned the passage. Speaking to Fox News, she explained that she and a colleague had prayed over different sections of scripture before landing on 2 Chronicles chapter 7 as 'such a critical passage for the body of Christ.' In her words, 'We needed somebody special to read Second Chronicles chapter seven.'
"Donald Trump, because he puts his ego first, cannot see anyone in a positive light."
— Mohammad Javid (@PhyuLay60937915) April 13, 2026
"I'm not a fan of Pope Leo."
President Trump rips into Pope Leo for being “very liberal" and accusing him of catering to the left after speaking out against the war in Iran. pic.twitter.com/ULizEUyB4p
There is an obvious symbolism in giving Donald Trump a text about humility and repentance, though neither Pounds nor the White House is saying that out loud. Pounds framed it instead as a broader cultural signal, arguing that Trump's participation 'send[s] a message that faith matters in this country, and that it's important not only personally, but for our nation overall.'
The effort comes against a backdrop of mounting irritation among some Christians at the president's tone and tactics. To recall, Trump earlier this month posted an AI-generated image casting himself in the role of Jesus Christ, before quietly deleting it. He has since claimed he believed the picture showed him as a doctor, a clarification that did little to calm critics who saw it as blasphemous or at least astonishingly tone-deaf.
At the same time, his confrontation with Pope Leo has only intensified. The Pope has condemned the Iran campaign in stark moral terms, and singled out Trump's threat to 'destroy Iranian civilization' if Tehran failed to meet US demands as 'truly unacceptable.' In response, Trump used his Truth Social platform to brand the pontiff 'WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy,' even going so far as to take credit for Leo's rise to the papacy. When pressed by reporters, Trump then mischaracterised the Pope's position, falsely claiming Leo had said 'Iran can have a nuclear weapon.'
Pope Leo, for his part, appears to have decided that trading insults with Donald Trump is a losing proposition, telling reporters on Saturday that it is 'not in his interest' to prolong the feud. That has not stopped the political bleeding. The new polling suggesting most Catholics now disapprove of Trump underscores the risk that a constituency which once leaned his way is beginning to drift.
Oval Office Bible Reading Puts Donald Trump Back In The Pulpit
Trump has long identified as a non‑denominational Christian, though his comfort with scripture has often been questioned, sometimes by his own allies. The decision to frame him, once again, as a reader of holy text from one of the most recognisable rooms in the world is therefore not just devotional theatre, but also political choreography.
The president will not be alone. Several senior officials are expected to join him for the Oval Office recording, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth. Their presence reinforces the administration's effort to wrap the machinery of government in a language of shared faith, even as its military decisions in Iran remain sharply divisive within the churches.
Hegseth himself attracted ridicule this week after an attempt at a Bible-themed prayer at the Pentagon veered into film trivia. Leading a blessing for US forces engaged in Iran, the Defence Secretary invoked what he introduced as 'CSAR 25:17' a nod, he said, to Ezekiel 25:17 from the Old Testament. In reality, what followed was a paraphrase of the monologue delivered by Samuel L Jackson's hitman character Jules Winnfield in Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction, a knowingly fake 'verse' used in the film before a killing.
For officials already under scrutiny over how lightly they handle religious language, the episode was not helpful. It underlined how blurred the line has become, in this White House, between sincere piety and performance. Whether the Oval Office reading by Donald Trump will persuade sceptical Catholics and other Christians that the balance is tipping back towards seriousness is, at best, uncertain and nothing about that reception is confirmed yet, so everything should be taken with a grain of salt.
