President Donald Trump will read from 2 Chronicles 7:11–22 on Tuesday, April 21, as part of the “America Reads the Bible” initiative, a weeklong event coinciding with the United States’ 250th anniversary. The reading will take place between 6–7 p.m. ET and will be available via livestream on the event’s website and the Great American Pure Flix app. The White House confirmed Trump’s participation to USA TODAY on April 20. “I applaud every citizen participating in the America Reads the Bible initiative,” Trump said in a statement on April 17. “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 Details and Participants

The event, which began on April 18 and runs through April 25, features nearly 500 participants, including elected officials, religious leaders, and influencers. According to CNN and CBN, participants read from Genesis through Revelation, with some readings occurring in person at the Museum of the Bible and others, like Trump’s, delivered virtually. The passage Trump has selected has long been a rallying point for the Christian right. It reads in part, “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

Political and Religious Context

Trump’s involvement in the event occurs amid a tense exchange with Pope Leo XIV. On April 12, Trump criticized the Pope for being “weak in the fight against crime and terrible in foreign policy,” a response to the Pontiff’s disapproval of Trump’s threats toward Iran. The Pope labeled Trump’s remarks “wahrhaft inakzeptabel,” or truly unacceptable. The tension escalated further when Trump shared a now-deleted image of himself as Jesus, sparking backlash from key Christian allies and even prompting a Republican congressman to condemn what he called a “holy war” against the Pope. Meanwhile, the America Reads the Bible initiative is organized by Christians Engaged, a nonprofit founded by Bunni Pounds. In an interview with CNN, Pounds said she had prayed for an elected official to read the chosen passage and hoped Trump would be willing to do so. “I’ve just been praying with a small group of people, asking the Lord to move to allow our president to pray this prayer, the words of God that he would hear,” she said.

Event Goals and Religious Significance

According to the event’s organizers, the goal of America Reads the Bible is to encourage citizens to engage with Scripture and reflect on the role of faith in American life. The initiative is part of broader 250th anniversary celebrations of the nation’s independence. In a speech at the event’s opening on April 18, House Speaker Mike Johnson shared a personal story about how a Bible verse shaped his faith. He recalled praying for his firefighter father during a severe burn injury and said that “God’s promise in Proverbs 30:5—‘Every word of God is pure’—became real to me.” Other participants include HUD Secretary Scott Turner, Senator Chuck Grassley, Senator Joni Ernst, and numerous religious leaders. The event is streamed daily from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. ET from the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C.