‘Obvious strategy’? Why Biden’s NC campaign is targeting Trump for ‘sacrilegious’ Bibles

Faith leaders and politicians Thursday called former President Donald Trump “sacrilegious” for selling Bibles while on the campaign trial as the Biden campaign continues to try and rally support to turn North Carolina blue.

Speaking at Rockwell A.M.E. Zion Church in Charlotte’s Derita neighborhood, ministers slammed Trump for his promotion of the “God Bless the USA” Bible and encouraged their congregations to rally behind President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign.

“We are called to call out wolves in sheep’s clothing, and that is what we have been called to do in this campaign,” said Rev. Dr. J. Elvin Sadler, general secretary-auditor of The AME Zion Church.

The Biden campaign has made North Carolina, and Mecklenburg County, a major focus point of its 2024 strategy as Democrats hope to carry the state in a presidential race for the first time since 2008. Campaign officials, strategists and local and state Democrats have said increasing turnout in the Charlotte area will be key to a swing state victory for Biden.

On Thursday, Sadler said he believes churches can play a part in getting Biden to victory.

“In the African American community, the church has always been the voice for our people, and the pulpit has always been a place where truth has been spoken,” he said. “It calls on people to be galvanized and to go into the streets and to encourage and empower others to vote. That’s what we’re going to do this year.”

It’s a strategy that could help energize Biden’s base and attract some swing voters but that may fall flat with other religious voters, one expert said.

Faith leaders: Trump is ‘sacrilegious’

Multiple speakers Thursday criticized Trump for selling a Bible during the campaign.

Trump began promoting the “God Bless the USA” Bible, inspired by the Lee Greenwood song of the same name, on his Truth Social platform in March, the Associated Press reported. The Bible sells for $59.99 and also includes copies of the U.S. Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the Declaration of Independence, the Pledge of Allegiance and the lyrics to Greenwood’s song.

The website where the book is sold says it “uses Donald J. Trump’s name, likeness and image under paid license from CIC Ventures LLC,” the AP reported. Trump reported owning CIC Ventures LLC in his 2023 financial disclosure.

Sadler called Trump’s involvement with the venture “offensive and sacrilegious.”

“Faith leaders like me across the political spectrum agree that Trump peddling these Bibles is blasphemous and disgusting … You can’t hold a Bible in one hand that promotes love while harboring hate for humanity,” he said.

Rev. David Ortigoza, an associate pastor at St. Andrew’s United Methodist Church, said Trump is “enriching himself while running an extremely dangerous campaign” by profiting from Bible sales.

“Trump has used our faith to benefit himself – doing the exact opposite of what the Bible tells us is right,” he said.

Charlotte City Council member Malcolm Graham said he felt he had a “moral obligation” to stand with the ministers against Trump — who he said had “implemented a dangerous agenda that hurt Black America” while in office. The reason was because of his sister, Cynthia Graham Hurd. She was one of nine people shot and killed by Dylann Roof at a Charleston, South Carolina, church in 2015. Roof was sentenced to death for the racially motivated murders.

“That attack was not only on those who were there, but it was an attack on a race of people that look like me. That’s why I’m speaking out today, because there’s too much at stake in this election (than) to stay on the sidelines and simply be quiet. I want to be a voice for Cynthia and the eight others,” he said.

Sadler, Ortigoza and other speakers claimed that Biden has done more for North Carolina’s Black and Latino communities in his time in office than Trump did, citing unemployment rates, student loan forgiveness and compromise legislation on gun safety.

Trump campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said in a statement responding to the event that Biden “waged a years-long assault on Christianity,” citing his support for abortion rights and declaration for Trans Visibility Day on Easter Sunday.

“President Trump will restore the Christian conservative values of faith, family, and freedom, end Biden’s discrimination against Christians, and stand up for religious freedom, as he did in his first term,” she said.

Can churches boost Biden in NC?

Appealing to voters through churches, particularly predominantly Black churches, could help “energize” Biden’s base, said Chris Cooper, a Western Carolina University political science professor. And that could be big for the president given “lackluster Black turnout” in recent elections, he said, “particularly in Mecklenburg County.”

“In some ways, it’s an obvious strategy,” he said. “And that’s not an insult. It just seems like a natural pressure point to push Trump.”

Sadler believes that message can appeal to all people with a “moral spiritual compass”— not just Black churches.

“Churches all across the state of all different hues, all different faith traditions are going to come together to make sure that we’re speaking for what’s right for North Carolina and for America,” he said.

Could religion swing anti-Trump Republicans to Biden?

Michael Tucker attended Thursday’s event wearing a shirt from former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley’s now-shuttered campaign for the Republican presidential nomination.

Tucker said he previously worked with the Mecklenburg Republican Party but left in 2020 over Trump. Tucker described himself as one of the “permanently barred,” a reference to Trump’s comments about Haley supporters being unwelcome in the Republican Party during the primaries.

He said he’s not particularly religious, but the Biden campaign’s message Thursday appealed to his morality. Tucker added, it could draw in other “principled conservatives” who typically vote Republican but also don’t like Trump.

“We have to stand up and actually say we’re going to vote against you until the Republican Party can pick a viable candidate that actually respects the values of democracy and decency and moral integrity,” he said.

Cooper said it’s unlikely that Biden will be able to sway evangelical voters who tend to be die-hard Republicans away from Trump.

“The evangelical community wants people who further their policy goals, like most people. Even if that comes in the packaging of a Donald Trump, who may seem like an unlikely messenger,” he said.

It would be a good sign for Biden if the strategy can get voters like Tucker to listen and actually vote Democrat on Election Day, Cooper added.

“The difference between staying home for a Republican and showing up voting for Biden could very well be the difference between winning and losing a purple state like North Carolina,” he said.