Oklahoma Uses Schools to Line Trump’s Pockets in Shameless Bible Grift
Donald Trump’s Bible grift is about to pull in some stateside cash.Oklahoma’s Department of Education on Monday opened bids to fill a 55,000 unit order of Bibles for classrooms across the state, but Superintendent Ryan Walters’s parameters for the allowed Bibles has become eyebrow-raisingly specific.Bid documents indicate that the Bible must meet strict expectations, including that the text itself be the King James version, that it includes both the Old and New Testaments, and that the copies include core, historical elements of the U.S. educational system, including the Pledge of Allegiance, the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. Oklahoma is also stipulating that the text be bound in leather or a leather-like material.Curiously, that narrows the pool of applicants down to just one apparent choice: Trump’s God Bless the USA Bible.“The RFP on its face seems fair, but with additional scrutiny, we can see there are very few Bibles on the market that would meet these criteria, and all of them have been endorsed by former President Donald Trump,” Oklahoma Appleseed Center for Law and Justice Executive Director Colleen McCarty told The Oklahoma Watch.*Trump made some quick cash on the rollout of the limited-edition, $60 Bible earlier this year when he co-promoted it alongside “God Bless the USA” singer Lee Greenwood. Another version, signed by the Republican presidential nominee, retailed for $1,000 a pop. The selling point for the print boiled down to a callback to Trump’s campaign: “We must make America pray again.” Prior to the Oklahoma bid, the far-flung grift raked in $300,000 in royalties, according to financial disclosures released by the former president.In July, Walters unveiled new guidelines for teaching Bibles in classrooms—and consequences for districts that refused to participate.“Every teacher, every classroom in the state, will have a Bible in the classroom and will be teaching from the Bible in the classroom,” Walters said at the time.* This post originally misidentified the outlet that obtained the quote.
Donald Trump’s Bible grift is about to pull in some stateside cash.
Oklahoma’s Department of Education on Monday opened bids to fill a 55,000 unit order of Bibles for classrooms across the state, but Superintendent Ryan Walters’s parameters for the allowed Bibles has become eyebrow-raisingly specific.
Bid documents indicate that the Bible must meet strict expectations, including that the text itself be the King James version, that it includes both the Old and New Testaments, and that the copies include core, historical elements of the U.S. educational system, including the Pledge of Allegiance, the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. Oklahoma is also stipulating that the text be bound in leather or a leather-like material.
Curiously, that narrows the pool of applicants down to just one apparent choice: Trump’s God Bless the USA Bible.
“The RFP on its face seems fair, but with additional scrutiny, we can see there are very few Bibles on the market that would meet these criteria, and all of them have been endorsed by former President Donald Trump,” Oklahoma Appleseed Center for Law and Justice Executive Director Colleen McCarty told The Oklahoma Watch.*
Trump made some quick cash on the rollout of the limited-edition, $60 Bible earlier this year when he co-promoted it alongside “God Bless the USA” singer Lee Greenwood. Another version, signed by the Republican presidential nominee, retailed for $1,000 a pop. The selling point for the print boiled down to a callback to Trump’s campaign: “We must make America pray again.” Prior to the Oklahoma bid, the far-flung grift raked in $300,000 in royalties, according to financial disclosures released by the former president.
In July, Walters unveiled new guidelines for teaching Bibles in classrooms—and consequences for districts that refused to participate.
“Every teacher, every classroom in the state, will have a Bible in the classroom and will be teaching from the Bible in the classroom,” Walters said at the time.
* This post originally misidentified the outlet that obtained the quote.
