Trump has long blasted China's trade practices. His 'God Bless the USA' Bibles were printed there

[October 09, 2024]  By RICHARD LARDNER and DAKE KANG

WASHINGTON (AP) — Thousands of copies of Donald Trump’s “God Bless the USA” Bible were printed in a country that the former president has repeatedly accused of stealing American jobs and engaging in unfair trade practices — China.

Global trade records reviewed by The Associated Press show a printing company in China’s eastern city of Hangzhou shipped close to 120,000 of the Bibles to the United States between early February and late March.

The estimated value of the three separate shipments was $342,000, or less than $3 per Bible, according to databases that use customs data to track exports and imports. The minimum price for the Trump-backed Bible is $59.99, putting the potential sales revenue at about $7 million.

The Trump Bible’s connection to China, which has not been previously reported, reveals a deep divide between the former president’s harsh anti-China rhetoric and his rush to cash in while campaigning.

The Trump campaign did not respond to emails and calls seeking comment.

Trump says his Bibles would help America

The largest and most recent load of 70,000 copies of Trump’s Bible arrived by container vessel at the Port of Los Angeles on March 28, two days after Trump announced in a video posted on his Truth Social platform that he’d partnered with country singer Lee Greenwood to hawk the Bibles.

In the video, Trump blended religion with his campaign message as he urged viewers to buy the Bible, inspired by Greenwood’s ballad, “God Bless the USA.” The Bible includes copies of the U.S. Constitution, Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights and Pledge of Allegiance.

“This Bible is a reminder that the biggest thing we have to bring back in America, and to make America great again, is our religion, Trump said. Judeo-Christian values, he added, are “under attack, perhaps as never before.”

Trump didn’t say where the “God Bless the USA” Bibles are printed, or what they cost; a copy hand-signed by the former president sells for $1,000. Trump also didn't disclose how much he earns per sale.

A version of the $59.99 Bible memorializes the July 13 assassination attempt on the former president in Pennsylvania. Trump’s name is on the cover above the phrase, “The Day God Intervened.” The wording appears to have been stamped on after the Bible was produced. Trump said Saturday his would-be assassin did not succeed “by the hand of providence and the grace of God.”

The Bibles are sold exclusively through a website that states it is not affiliated with any political campaign nor is it owned or controlled by Trump.

A photo posted on the website shows Trump sitting at his desk in the Oval Office with Greenwood standing beside him. In another photo, the former president smiles broadly while holding a copy of the Bible.

Trump's name and image are licensed

The website states that Trump’s name and image are used under a paid license from CIC Ventures, a company Trump reported owning in his most recent financial disclosure. CIC Ventures earned $300,000 in Bible sales royalties, according to the disclosure. It’s unclear what period that covers or how much Trump received in additional payments since the disclosure was released in August.

AP received no response to questions sent to an email on the Bible website and to a publicist for Greenwood.

For years, Trump has castigated Beijing as an obstacle to America’s economic success, slapping hefty tariffs on Chinese imports while president and threatening even more stringent measures if he’s elected again. He blamed China for the COVID-19 outbreak and recently suggested, without evidence, that thousands of Chinese immigrants are flooding the U.S. to build an “army” and attack America.

But Trump also has an eye on his personal finances. Pitching Bibles is one of a dizzying number of for-profit ventures he’s launched or promoted, including diamond-encrusted watches, sneakers, photo books, cryptocurrency and digital trading cards.

The web of enterprises has stoked conflict of interest concerns. Selling products at prices that exceed their value may be considered a campaign contribution, said Claire Finkelstein, founder of the nonpartisan Center for Ethics and the Rule of Law and a law professor at the University of Pennsylvania.

“You have to assume that everything that the individual does is being done as a candidate and so that any money that flows through to him benefits him as a candidate,” Finkelstein said. “Suppose Vladimir Putin were to buy a Trump watch. Is that a campaign finance violation? I would think so.”

Selling Bibles, she added, “strikes me as a profoundly problematic mixing of religion and state.”

Potential conflicts of interest

As president, Trump would be in a position to influence policies and markets to benefit businesses in which he and his family have financial stakes. While president, his administration exempted Bibles and other religious texts from tariffs imposed on billions of dollars of Chinese goods.

The Constitution of the United States is printed in Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump's "God Bless the USA" Bible in Washington, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

There’s a potentially lucrative opportunity for Trump to sell 55,000 of the “God Bless the USA” Bibles to Oklahoma after the state’s top education official ordered public schools to incorporate Scripture into lessons for grades 5 through 12. Oklahoma plans to spend $3 million on Bibles that initially matched Trump’s edition: a King James Version that contains the U.S. founding documents. The request was revised Monday to allow the U.S. historical documents to be bound with the Bible or provided separately.

Oklahoma’s Department of Education did not answer AP’s questions about whether the Bibles must be printed in the United States or if any department officials have discussed the proposal with Trump or his representatives.

“There are hundreds of Bible publishers and we expect a robust competition for this proposal,” said department spokesman Dan Isett.

Chinese printing company confirms shipments

China is one of the world’s leading producers of Bibles, so it’s not unusual for the Trump-endorsed version to be printed there.

The first delivery of Trump Bibles was labeled “God Bless USA,” according to the information from the Panjiva and Import Genius databases. The other two were described as “Bibles.” All the books were shipped by New Ade Cultural Media, a printing company in Hangzhou that describes itself as a “custom Bible book manufacturer.” They were sent to Freedom Park Design, a company in Alabama that databases identified as the importer of the Bibles.

Tammy Tang, a sales representative for New Ade, told AP all three shipments were “God Bless the USA” Bibles. She said New Ade received the orders via the WhatsApp messaging service and confirmed they were from Freedom Park Design. The books were printed on presses near the company’s Hangzhou office, she said. Tang did not disclose the sales price or other details, citing customer confidentiality.

“They didn’t come to meet us,” Tang said by telephone. “We just do the production.”

She declined further comment and referred interview requests to Freedom Park Design.

Freedom Park Design was incorporated in Florida on March 1, according to business registration records. An aspiring country singer named Jared Ashley is the company’s president. He also co-founded 16 Creative, a digital marketing firm that uses the same Gulf Shores address and processes online orders for branded merchandise sold by entertainers and authors.

Ashley hung up on a reporter who called to ask about the Bibles.

Greenwood is a client of 16 Creative, according to the firm’s website. He launched the American-flag emblazoned Bible in 2021. His song, “God Bless the USA,” was released 40 years ago and is a staple at Trump rallies. Greenwood has also appeared at the former president’s campaign events.

Critics call Trump Bible a ‘toxic mix’

The King James Version used in the Trump Bible is in the public domain. Greenwood had initially planned to use the best-selling New International Version licensed in North America by HarperCollins Christian Publishing. But the publisher abandoned the arrangement amid pressure from religious scholars and authors who denounced the merger of Scripture and government documents as a “toxic mix” that would fuel Christian nationalism sentiments in evangelical churches.

Christian nationalism is a movement that fuses American and Christian values, symbols and identity and seeks to privilege Christianity in public life. Christian nationalists are likely to believe the U.S. Constitution was inspired by God and that the federal government should declare the U.S. a Christian nation.

Other critics called the Trump Bible blasphemous.

“Taking what has long been understood as a global message religiously and stamping it with the flag of one nation is the type of thing that for centuries theologians would call heresy,” said Brian Kaylor, a Baptist minister and president of the Christian media company Word&Way.

‘Love of money’

Tim Wildsmith, a Baptist minister who reviews Bibles on his YouTube channel, said he quickly noticed the signs of a cheaply made book when his “God Bless the USA” Bible arrived wrapped in plastic inside a padded mailer.

It had a faux leather cover, and words were jammed together on the pages, making it hard to read. He also found sticky pages that ripped when pulled apart, and there was no copyright page or information about who printed the Bible, or where.

“I was shocked by how poor the quality of it was,” Wildsmith said. “It says to me that it’s more about the love of money than it is the love of our country.”

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Kang reported from Beijing. Associated Press writer Martha Mendoza in Santa Cruz, California, contributed.

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