Trump participates in Bible reading after AI depiction resembling Jesus, Pope Leo controversies April 22, 2026By Kate Scanlon OSV News Filed Under: Bible, Feature, News, World News WASHINGTON (OSV News) — President Donald Trump participated April 21 in an event called “America Reads the Bible,” speaking by prerecorded video message to read from Scripture. His participation in the event came as Trump faced controversy for posting and deleting an AI-generated image appearing to depict himself as Jesus, and soon after he lashed out at Pope Leo XIV on social media and in verbal remarks for the pontiff’s opposition to the Iran war. In the prerecorded video from the Oval Office, Trump read from 2 Chronicles 7:11–22, using the King James Easy Read Bible by Whitaker House Publishers, a Protestant translation. “And the Lord appeared to Solomon by night, and said unto him, I have heard your prayer, and have chosen this place to myself for a house of sacrifice,” Trump read, in part. The weeklong event at the Museum of the Bible, organized by the Protestant-affiliated group Christians Engaged, sought to read the entire Bible aloud to mark America’s 250th anniversary later this year. In a presidential message issued April 17 before the event, Trump said, “During our 250th year of American independence, the America Reads the Bible initiative invites all citizens to once again acknowledge our Nation’s extraordinary Biblical foundations and to give thanks for the countless ways in which God has been the sacred source of our unity and national strength.” “I applaud every citizen participating in the America Reads the Bible initiative,” he said. “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.” But the event came as Trump faced still-simmering controversy over his social media posts and comments from the previous week. Over the course of several days starting April 12, Trump called Pope Leo “weak on crime” and “terrible for foreign policy,” as tension escalated in the Middle East. Pope Leo has been a staunch critic of combat operations generally, including those initiated by the U.S. and Israel against Iran on Feb. 28. In defense of their combat operations, the Trump administration has argued the Iranian regime presented grave nuclear threats. Pope Leo told journalists aboard the papal plane to Algiers, Algeria, on April 13, that he is not a politician, but he will “continue to speak out loudly against war, looking to promote peace, promoting dialogue and multilateral relationships among the States to look for just solutions to problems.” “I have no fear neither of the Trump administration nor speaking out loudly of the message of the Gospel,” he said, “which is what I believe I am here to do, what the Church is here to do.” Meanwhile, an AI-generated image that appeared to depict Trump as Jesus was deleted from his social media account after an uproar, with many people from multiple Christian denominations denouncing the depiction as blasphemous. Other scheduled participants in the “America Reads the Bible” event, expected to run April 19–25, included Secretary of State Marco Rubio, House Speaker Mike Johnson and several other Republican members of Congress, and evangelical allies of the president including the Rev. Franklin Graham and the Rev. Paula White-Cain. Revs. Graham and White-Cain are both members of Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission. read more bible ‘The Story of All Stories’ children’s Bible vividly conveys salvation history Scripture is intended to speak to believers ‘in every age,’ pope says ‘The Bible in a Year’ podcast at 5: Father Mike Schmitz has 5 takeaways Radio Interview: The Dead Sea Scrolls Bishop: New Bible translation shows ‘God never changes, but always has something new for us’ What is lectio divina? Rediscovering an ancient spiritual discipline Copyright © 2026 OSV News Print
