State’s bid cites requirements that $60 Trump-endorsed God Bless the USA Bible appears to be tailor-made to meet
Oklahoma’s top education official is seeking to buy 55,000 Bibles for public schools and specifying that each copy contain the Declaration of Independence and US constitution, which are not commonly found in Bibles but are included in one endorsed by former president Donald Trump.
The request is part of Republican state superintendent Ryan Walters’ ongoing efforts to require Bibles in every classroom, which has been met with resistance by some of Oklahoma’s largest school districts.
Walters is seeking to spend $3m in state funds for Bibles that fit a certain criteria, including that the pages are supplemented with US historical materials. The Bibles must also be “bound in leather or leather-like material for durability”, according to state bidding documents posted this week.
It’s not that they cut any in particular, they just only included the Bill of Rights, which isn’t uncommon when pairing them with the Constitution. Not defending them, still a grift going on here, but that particular detail isn’t as nefarious as some people want to think. At least, not on its own.