‘Christian nationalism’ or ‘made-up controversy’? 7 Reactions to Trump signing Bibles

By Michael Gryboski, Editor Monday, March 11, 2019

Donald Trump shows off the Bible his mother gave him in a January 2016 video thanking evangelical Christians for supporting his campaign. | (Photo: Facebook/Donald Trump)

President Donald Trump signed copies of the Holy Bible at an Alabama church last week while visiting an area that was ravaged by tornadoes that led to the deaths of more than 20 people.

While meeting with people affected by the twisters, President Trump was asked to sign a few Bibles and did so, prompting debates and outrage on social media and elsewhere.

Some wondered why a person would want Trump's signature on their Bible, given that the same signature was recently revealed on checks allegedly for hush money payments to a porn star; and, as Family Research Council President Tony Perkins once said, Trump is "not familiar with the Bible." Others wondered whether it was appropriate for Trump to fulfill the request.

Past presidents including Ronald Reagan and Franklin Delano Roosevelt have signed Bibles, according to the Associated Press, though some have argued that the circumstances are different in Trump’s case as typically presidents sign Bibles for close acquaintances.

Additionally, in August, 2018, a group of evangelical leaders gave Trump a Bible as a gift that they all signed.

Here are seven reactions to the president’s signing of the Bibles in Alabama. Some defend Trump as doing something commonplace, while others argue that there is an important difference between signing and autographing.