So much for separation of church and state.
According to new reporting by The Oklahoman, state Superintendent Ryan Walters opened bids to purchase 55,000 Bibles for schools. Interestingly, a Bible endorsed by Donald Trump, known as “Lee Greenwood’s God Bless the U.S.A. Bible,” is one of only two that fits the bill—and the other one is endorsed by his son, Donald Jr.
According to the request for proposals, the “Bibles must be the King James Version; must contain the Old and New Testaments; must include copies of the Pledge of Allegiance, Declaration of Independence, U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights; and must be bound in leather or leather-like material.”
That sure does seem specific.
“A salesperson at Mardel Christian & Education searched, and though they carry 2,900 Bibles, none fit the parameters,” according to The Oklahoman—except the one that the former president gets a cut from.
Bid documents indicate the supplier must provide a total of 55,000 Bibles to the Oklahoma State Board of Education and each school district. With the Trump-endorsed Bibles selling at a lavish $60 each, that would be a $3.3 million purchase. That’s quite an excessive order as, according to the report, there are only 43,000 classroom teachers in the state—and Walters has claimed he only “wants them in classes where the Bible might apply to academic standards, such as history or literature.”
The request for the Bibles could violate state law, according to former Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson.
“It appears to me that this bid is anything but competitive,” Edmondson told The Oklahoman. “It adds to the basic specification other requirements that have nothing to do with the text. The special binding and inclusion of government documents will exclude almost all bidders. If the bid specs exclude most bidders unnecessarily, I could consider that a violation.”
Not to mention that paperback versions of the King James Bible are available for as little as $2.99 each, as The Oklahoman points out. Looks like Sooner State schools might have to pay quite a hefty Trump tax on those Good Books.
This is part of a broader trend of conservative states like Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Kentucky integrating religious texts into public education, often justifying it by claiming they teach students about the historical foundations of the United States.
This is far from the first time Trump has used his political brand to grift. Recent Daily Kos reporting details how he and his family engaged in profiteering throughout his presidency and during this campaign by hawking jewelry, cryptocurrency, sneakers, and coins, among other products.
During a June press conference, Walters said he sees the Bible as “a necessary historic document” that’s essential to learn about “Western civilization” and “the basis of our legal system.”
“Every teacher, every classroom in the state will have a Bible in the classroom,” said Walters. “And will be teaching from the Bible in the classroom.”
As the debate continues, many are left wondering how this initiative will affect Oklahoma’s already abysmal education system—and if it’ll set a precedent for more states to follow suit.
