Trump to Read Bible Passage to Nation on Tuesday
President Trump will read a passage of scripture from the Old Testament to the entire nation on Tuesday evening. The president is scheduled to read Scripture from the Oval Office as part of an “America Reads the Bible” initiative.
“In every generation, through every trial and triumph, God’s Word has guided our people and our country to new heights,” states a Presidential Message released by the White House on the eve of America Reads the Bible.
Nearly 500 Americans are participating in a sweeping national effort to bring Christians back to the Bible. They are gathered at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C. where the continuious public reading began in earnest over the weekend.
The presidential message highlighted the Bible’s extraordinary impact on American history, including references to Christopher Columbus, John Winthrop, the Declaration of Independence, the 1787 Northwest Ordinance, and President John Adams.
The president will read from 2 Chronicles 7:11–22, including the well-known passage: “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.”
Bunni Pounds, president of Christians Engage and the visionary behind the project, told The Todd Starnes Show that the idea was born out of a deeply personal moment—and a growing concern about the nation’s spiritual condition.
“We need a reminder call of that,” Pounds told Starnes, recalling a visit to the Museum of the Bible that sparked the movement. “Wouldn’t it be awesome if our national leaders from all demographics, all denominations and backgrounds would humble themselves and say, we need the Bible every day to make it and you the American people need the Bible every day to make it?”
Organizers say the event is designed not only as a symbolic gesture—but as a national spiritual reset.
Pounds, a longtime political strategist and former congressional staffer, said the inspiration also drew from the biblical account of Ezra reading the law to the people of Israel—a moment of national renewal.
“This is the problem with the American church,” she said. “We don’t know who we are… just like ancient Israel, we need a reminder call.”
The reading will feature a wide array of participants—from cabinet members and governors to Hollywood actors and everyday Americans—underscoring what Pounds describes as a unifying, cross-cultural movement centered on faith.
“We have six cabinet members… 20 members of Congress… but we have everybody from farmers to hospice care workers to single moms,” she said. “It has really been an amazing moment.”
The event will run daily from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., with worship and prayer interwoven throughout the readings. Organizers expect hundreds of participants and millions of viewers through radio broadcasts and livestreams.
Pounds emphasized its deeper purpose: confronting what she called widespread spiritual complacency.
“We’re praying for two things,” she said. “Number one, complacency and apathy has broken off our hearts as far as the body of Christ with our relationship to the Bible… we understand that God wants to speak to us every day.”
She added that the initiative is also aimed at reaching those outside the church—hoping the public reading will spark curiosity and conviction.
“We’re believing… [this will] stir Americans that maybe I should pick up a Bible right now,” Pounds said.
To that end, organizers have partnered with more than 100 ministries to provide free Bible reading plans and discipleship resources, encouraging Americans to continue engaging with Scripture long after the event concludes.
“We want to see people read the Bible every day,” Pounds said.
Supporters of the initiative say the timing—amid cultural division and political turmoil—makes the public reading especially significant. By anchoring the celebration of America’s founding in Scripture, they argue, the event serves as both a reflection on the nation’s past and a call to its future.
As Pounds put it, the goal is simple—but profound: “Think about how you can use it in your community, your family, your church, and your business.”
For many involved, “America Reads the Bible” is more than an event—it’s a declaration that faith, and the public reading of God’s Word, still has a place at the center of American life.
