Holy guy: Just in time for Easter, the holiest day in the Christian calendar, Donald Trump started selling Bibles the same month he posted bail after recently being found liable for sexually assaulting and defaming writer E. Jean Carroll and before his next trial, reportedly

pay

pre-election hush money for porn star Stormy Daniels.

Nothing could better illustrate Trump’s shamelessness, and in Americans’ reaction to his latest pushback the range of views about him: From

that of

swindler (my opinion, of course) to God’s anointed (his most worshipful followers).

Americans haven’t seen a plan as Biblical as Trump’s in half a century. And that earlier film was the fantasy film Ryan and Tatum O’Neal playing a father-daughter tag team who swindle a farm widow in the 1973 film Paper Moon. (That same year, Nixon’s Justice Department sued Trump and

are

father for highly unchristian racial discrimination in apartment rentals, which led to a long legal battle that ended in the Trumps signing a consent decree against this practice. Then, as he does now, Trump ignored Matthew 5:25: Settle matters quickly with your adversary who takes you to court.)

Happy Holy Week! Lets Make America Pray Again, Trump wrote in a message on social media on Tuesday. As we approach Good Friday and Easter, I encourage you to purchase a copy of the God Bless The USA Bible.

Yours for just $59.99, plus shipping.

My Bible didn’t cost that much. But mine doesn’t include such non-biblical bonuses as the lyrics to the song that opens Trump’s rallies, God Bless the USA by Lee Greenwood, his partner in this venture. There is also the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, the Pledge of Allegiance and the Constitution, which I fight very hard every day to keep Americans protected, he claims in a three-minute sales video.

Thou shalt not bear false witness, says the ninth commandment, the book of Exodus. Trump, the self-proclaimed fighter for the Constitution, once called for an end to the Constitution.

The Bible Pitch video is worth its weight in gold for anti-Trump memes and mockery, the kind of material tailor-made for Saturday Night Live without the writers changing a word.

You have to have it for your heart, for your soul, Trump says, pressing the good book to his stomach. His pose is reminiscent of that bizarre photo op outside St. Johns Episcopal Church across from the White House in 2020. Trump had rarely entered St. Johns, the so-called Church of the Presidents, or any other during his four years in office occasion whatsoever. church for that matter.

Yet Trump preaches in the Bible video: Religion and Christianity are the biggest things missing in this country. That’s why our country is in disarray. All Americans need a Bible in their home and I have a lot of them. It’s my favorite book.

Right.

Speaking of favorites, when it comes to the many responses to Trump’s Bible drivel, mine was Liz Cheney’s. answer on the site once known as Twitter: Happy Holy Week, Donald. Instead of selling Bibles, you should probably buy one. And read it, including Exodus 20:14.

Note to Trump: This is another one of the Ten Commandments. The one that says “You shall not commit adultery” in the new King James version you are selling.

Reporters famously challenged then-candidate Trump early in the 2016 campaign to quote his most favorite Bible verses, given the claims he made at the time about his love of the Bible. He refused and repeatedly emphasized: ‘That is very personal.

Around this time four years ago, then-President Trump also tried to emphasize his reverence for Christianity and Holy Week, with potentially fatal consequences. It was the spring of 2020, COVID-19 was spreading, nearly 800 Americans had died, hundreds of thousands had fallen ill, and much of the country was on lockdown. He suddenly suggested that everything should open again by Easter.

Easter is a very special day for me, he said. Wouldn’t it be great if all the churches were full?

Most remained closed, to the relief of public health experts. By that Easter, more than 22,000 Americans had died, a nearly 30-fold increase in the three weeks after Trump called for the countries to reopen.

Trump’s display of religiosity and that of his most zealous disciples has become even more pronounced and even messianic of late., as he campaigns for president again. While some Christians see blasphemy, many Trump followers see more proof that he is God’s chosen one.

Here is the voiceover from the video from some supporters That

he plays

during his meetings: “On June 14, 1946, God looked down on his planned paradise and said, ‘I need a provider.’ So God gave us Trump. And so it goes on. Last October, at the start of the trial in New York that ended with the former president found liable for financial fraud, Trump posted a message sketch of himself and Jesus, side by side, at the witness table.

The faithful lick it up. This really is a battle between good and evil, an evangelical TV preacher said of the criminal charges against Trump. There is something about President Trump that the enemy fears: it is called the anointing.

Granted, not all Trump supporters are so ardent. Some even admit he’s a bit of a fraud, not that they’ll change their vote. Still, most of us, regardless of our political or religious leanings, should be able to agree that anyone who wants to lead this diverse nation should not use the Bible to divide us, let alone make money.

What would Jesus do? We know this much: He threw those who sold and bought out of the temple. Matthew 21:12-13.

@jackiekcalmes