*Disclaimer: The opinions and views expressed by those quoted in this article do not express or reflect the views of any organizations or denominations of which they may be a part; they are purely personal opinions.

Last month, former president Donald Trump attempted to sell sneakers. Now, he’s selling his own version of the Christian Bible.

On March 26, Trump announced on X, formerly Twitter, his endorsement of a new Bible, dubbed the “God Bless The USA Bible.” The edition is a Kings James translation paired with printings of the Constitution, Declaration of Independence and lyrics to the Lee Greenwood song “God Bless the USA”.

“To be clear on the exact nature of the economic arrangement, he has been paid a flat fee to associate his name with this particular Bible edition and to endorse it,” Matthew Wilson, associate professor of political science at Southern Methodist University, said. “But he doesn’t get a percentage of the sales.”

The recent uptick in Trump’s business ventures has developed alongside financial trouble caused by his legal battles, including a $175 million bond penalty for fraud.

“I don’t think that, given the enormity of the civil judgments against him, any number of endorsements is gonna get him out from under that,” Wilson said. “But Trump’s always about making money. He always has an eye out for profit opportunities and these kind of product endorsements just fall into that.”

Wilson suggests that there are possible political intentions driving Trump’s endorsement of the Bible.

“[Trump] knows that a portion of his base consists of a conservative nationalist, evangelical Protestants, and that’s really the kind of niche market for this,” Wilson said.

However, white evangelical Christians only make up 14% of the American population according to the Public Religion Research Institute. Wilson believes that Trump’s endorsements could be a double edged sword.

“The danger in this is that a lot of Christians who may have been inclined to support [Trump] but see this personal association with the Bible as unseemly could be put off by it,” Wilson said.

Some Christians, such as Reverend Jake Dickerson, hold the personal belief that placing the Constitution alongside scripture gives the appearance of elevating the word of man to the word of God.

“The ‘God Bless the USA’ is really a statement that’s saying those documents are at the same level of authority as the Bible,” Dickerson said. “I would not say as a Christian and I would not say as a clergy person that those documents are at the same level of authority as the Bible.”

Dickerson suggests that the collection of these texts may, intentionally or not, imply that the United States government is religious. This could pose a threat to the separation of church and state which is written into the U.S. Constitution.

“I see the separation of religion and government to be really important, not just for a good functioning government, but also for a really healthy and robust religious life,” Reverend Elisabeth Moseley said.

Moseley, speaking for herself and not representing her church, also adds that there are inherent differences between the documents.

“I think they’re different documents and I would hesitate to bind them together as if they all speak to the same thing and do the same purpose,” Moseley said.

However, sophomore Ava Benbow believes that religion and government are inherently woven together to some extent.

“From what I understand, the founding fathers specifically were influenced by Christianity and our country does have a foundation of Christianity,” Benbow said.

Benbow says that the Trump-endorsed Bible is not necessarily equating the Constitution to the Bible.

“I think it depends on if the intentions are good, but if he’s doing it just to get money then no,” Benbow said. “I’d say it’s fine that they’re being sold together as long as it’s not being forced.”

Regardless of the intention behind the Trump-endorsed Bible, Wilson believes that the text does seem to cast the U.S. as a Christian nation.

“If someone’s trying to make an argument that Trump is tapping into a Christian nationalist worldview, this is gonna be an exhibit for that,” Wilson said.