PT Barnum, the great 19th century showman, circus owner and hoax promoter, is quoted as saying, “There’s a sucker born every minute.”
Donald J. Trump, the great 21st century con man, political phenomenon and hoax promoter, would heartily agree. Trump has built a weirdly successful career in business, entertainment and politics based on his uncanny ability to convince legions of suckers to buy into his self-aggrandizing schemes, from Trump University, the Trump charity and the Big Lie, to his latest scam tricking thousands of poor chumps into chipping in to pay his millions of dollars in legal bills.
And, now, Trump is selling Bibles. These aren’t just any Bibles, these are “God Bless the USA” Bibles featuring some of the lyrics from country singer Lee Greenwood’s patriotic song of that name — a textual addition that King James might find curious were he still around to promote his own translation of the holy book. Of course, the king is long dead, which made it easy for Trump to expropriate the old monarch’s version of the scriptures for his own money-making scheme.
Trump solemnly stipulates that money raised from Bible sales will not be used for his presidential campaign. What he makes less clear is the fact that he is getting paid for every book sold by the publisher — a publishing operation that he happens to own.
But dare we doubt that Trump is sincere in his mission to spread the gospel?
“All Americans need a Bible in their home, and I have many. It’s my favorite book,” Trump assured his potential customers in the video promoting Bible sales on Truth Social. “I’m proud to endorse and encourage you to get this Bible. We must make America pray again.”
Pray — and pay again, that is.
Forgive me for being a skeptic, but I would bet $59.99 (the price of Trump’s Bibles) that he does not have “many” Bibles in his home and I am pretty darn sure it is not his favorite book. That would have to be his own ghost-written book, “The Art of the Deal.”
Trump is clearly not a religious man. He has spent his life enthusiastically engaging in each of the Seven Deadly Sins. Nevertheless, evangelical Christians are his most ardent supporters and are likely to be his best customers for the new Bible. Trump exploiting the Word of God for his own financial gain may be a form of desecration, if not blasphemy, but, sadly, some conservative Christians will not be bothered. They have already sold their political souls to the huckster from Mar-a-Lago.
See more of David Horsey’s cartoons at: st.news/davidhorsey
View other syndicated cartoonists at: st.news/cartoons
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David Horsey
is a two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist for The Seattle Times. His latest book is “Drawing Apart: Political Cartoons from a Polarized America.”
