What do we know about Trump's love for the Bible?

On Tuesday evening, Donald Trump ordered the area outside the White House cleared of protesters by law enforcement who used teargas and flash-bang grenades to dispel the crowd. The impetus was a staged photo opportunity in front of the historic St John’s Episcopal church, which has already been condemned by religious leaders.

“Let me be clear, the president just used a Bible, the most sacred text of the Judeo-Christian tradition, and one of the churches of my diocese, without permission, as a backdrop for a message antithetical to the teachings of Jesus,” The Right Rev Mariann Budde, the Episcopal bishop of Washington, told the Washington Post.

Asked by a reporter if the prop was his Bible, Trump responded: “It’s a Bible.”

As many other critics of the stunt have pointed out, aside from the disgraceful use of force against citizens to ensure a photo could be taken, the president appeared in images holding the Bible backwards and seemingly upside down, as if he’d never held one before.

“I just wish he’d open it once in a while,” Joe Biden said in a speech this morning.

That wasn’t the first such indication that the president is unfamiliar with the contents of the holy book.

Back in 2015, in the lead-up to his election, Trump frequently named the Bible as his favorite book. At a rally in Michigan Trump asked a crowd how many had read his own book The Art of the Deal.

“It’s my second favorite book of all time,” he said. “Do you know what my first is? The Bible! Nothing beats the Bible!”

It became a recurring theme for him on the campaign trail.

“As much as I love The Art of the Deal, it’s not even close,” he said. “We take the Bible all the way.”

Not long after, the then candidate was asked during an interview with Bloomberg to expound on one of his favorite chapters from his favorite book and he demurred.

“I wouldn’t want to get into it. Because to me, that’s very personal,” he said. “The Bible means a lot to me, but I don’t want to get into specifics.”

Asked if he could at least choose between the New and Old Testaments, he again passed.

“Probably equal. I think it’s just incredible.”

A few months earlier he managed to remember at least one favorite line from the Bible that did stick out to him in a radio interview.

“Well, I think many. I mean, when we get into the Bible, I think many, so many. And some people, look, an eye for an eye, you can almost say that. That’s not a particularly nice thing. But you know, if you look at what’s happening to our country, I mean, when you see what’s going on with our country, how people are taking advantage of us, and how they scoff at us and laugh at us.””

The next year, at a service in Iowa, Trump attempted to put money in the communion plate. Previously he had said it was a process he was familiar with, saying he would often “drink his little wine and “take his little cracker”.

In March, a pastor who leads a Bible study group for members of the Trump cabinet, and is reported to be a loose adviser to the president, wrote a piece that blamed the Covid-19 pandemic on gay people and environmentalists.

Last year, Trump shared a quote from a non-Jewish radio host who likened him to the “King of Israel” and said Israelis “love him like he is the second coming of God”.

“Thank you,” the president responded.

The president, who has said he does not frequently ask for forgiveness, is not a regular churchgoer. During the impeachment vote he said of Mitt Romney, “I don’t like people who use their faith as justification for doing what they know is wrong.”

In 2016, he won 81% of the white evangelical vote.