Administration

Trump to join public Bible reading as Pope Leo clash simmers

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by Ryan Mancini - 04/18/26 11:41 AM ET

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by Ryan Mancini - 04/18/26 11:41 AM ET

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President Trump on Friday announced that he will attend a marathon reading of the Bible amid his feud with Pope Leo XIV.

The group Christians Engaged listed Trump one of many participants in the “America Reads the Bible” event, which starts Saturday evening and runs for a week.

The president said in a statement that he applauds “every citizen participating in the America Reads the Bible initiative. Together, we will honor Holy Scripture, renew our faith, usher in a historic resurgence of religion on American shores, and rededicate the United States as one Nation under God.”

Event organizers told The New York Times that Trump recorded his segment of the reading from the Oval Office. The president will read from the Old Testament book of 2 Chronicles. The outlet added that this passage is interpreted by Trump’s Christian supporters as a call to national repentance and subsequent blessing.

Several past and present Trump administration officials will also participate in the reading, who make up the roughly 500 readers listed on the event’s website.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Dr. Ben Carson, Veteran Affairs Secretary Doug Collins, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R), U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, White House chief of staff Susie Wiles and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo are on the list.

Trump allies such as House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and the Rev. Franklin Graham are also scheduled to participate.

The president’s participation comes amid his feud with the head of the Catholic Church. Leo has criticized the U.S. military’s operation in Iran and called for peace. Trump dismissed the pope’s pleas and accused him of being “WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy,” insisting Leo wants Iran to have nuclear weapons, a point the pope has never made.

On Friday, the commander in chief told reporters that he does not intend to meet with Leo to iron out their differences and that he has “a right to disagree with the pope. I have no disagreement with the fact the pope can say what he wants, and I want him to say what he wants, but I can disagree.”

The pontiff, while in Cameroon, condemned “those who manipulate religion and the very name of God for their own military, economic, and political gain, dragging that which is sacred into darkness and filth.”

Trump’s upcoming Bible reading also comes after the president posted an AI-rendered image, resembling a painting of himself depicted as a Christ-like figure to his Truth Social last weekend. The post was removed on Sunday following a massive outcry from conservatives and Christians who said the image was blasphemous.

After the image was taken down, Trump said the following day that he thought the image depicted him as a “doctor.”

Days later, he shared another AI image of himself, this time being embraced by Jesus Christ.

“The Radical Left Lunatics might not like this, but I think it is quite nice!!!” Trump wrote online.

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