Donald Trump, who recently posted an image on social media which portrayed him as Jesus Christ (or, rather, “a doctor”), and who seems unable to stop attacking the pope, read the Bible to America on Tuesday night.

Sitting behind his desk in the Oval Office, hands resting on a book that looked like a Bible, Trump stared straight into the camera (presumably there was a teleprompter) as he recited from the book 2 Chronicles. It’s a passage which has become fashionable among the right wing, and which quotes God as saying:

“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”

Trump didn’t actually read it to the whole of the US, of course. Instead he read it, in a taped message that was broadcast via a slightly janky livestream, to anyone enthusiastic enough to tune into a weeklong, rightwing, “America Reads the Bible” event where 500 people – a collection of true believers, Republican politicians, grifters, weirdos and homophobes – are taking it in turns to read the Bible cover to cover.

To some, Trump reading scripture may have seemed a little cynical. Trump is desperate to win back angry Christians after he alienated many with that Son of God AI photo , and with the attacks on Pope Leo (among other things, Trump accused God’s representative on Earth of being “soft on crime”).

People might also fairly question the sincerity of Trump’s effort, given the president’s historically tenuous relationship with the Christian faith.

Trump says the Bible is his favorite book, but during his 2016 campaign for president, he was unable to name a single Bible verse. As he sought to win over evangelical voters, he referred to the communion as “my little wine” and “my little cracker”.

In a church visit around the same time, Trump dumped cash on to a plate that was meant to hold the communion.

He has also said he has never asked God for forgiveness, which is kind of a key point within Christianity, while at an event at religious university, he referred to the Bible book “Second Corinthians” as “Two Corinthians”.

Trump also opted not to place his hand on the Bible during his 2024 inauguration, which is hardly the worst act of his second term, but it upset people all the same.

It’s hard to say what the impact of Trump’s Bible-reading will be: partly because it is hard to believe many people have been closely following America Reads the Bible, an event organized by a woman whose name is Bunni Pounds, who claims “God called” her to be a “missionary to America”.

Pounds is the founder and vice-president of an organization called Christians Engaged, a get out the (Christian nationalist) vote group which also offers a line in homophobia: one article on its website refers to homosexuality and gay marriage as “abominations”.

Indeed, the list of readers is rife with those who wield their faith like a weapon. Mike Johnson, the US House speaker who once used an anti-porn app to monitor his and his son’s internet activity, is among them, along with Pete Hegseth, the Bible-thumping, hawkish defense secretary.

Others include a pastor at the Christian ministry Faith and Liberty, which last year lobbied against a bill which would have introduced anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ+ people. The ministry complained that the legislation would aid what it described as “the obscenities and recruiting efforts of the LGBTQ agenda”. “America the Brave will turn into ‘America the Queer’,” the organization concluded.

There were also speakers from Her Voice Movement, which claims people can help avert an LGBTQ+ “crisis” by becoming a “visionary” member of its organization. It costs $4,000 a month to be a visionary member, but in exchange people get an ebook and a T-shirt.

Religious scholars have been less than impressed. Jemar Tisby, a historian who writes about racial justice and faith, wrote: “You cannot quote the Bible while justifying violence, war and exclusion.”

Pastor Doug Pagitt, executive director of the progressive group Vote Common Good, felt similarly. He told Associated Press in a statement: “If you like reading the Bible, try living it.”