President Donald Trump has participated in a marathon Bible-reading event hosted at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C., reading aloud a passage from 2 Chronicles that calls for national repentance — a verse long associated with American Christian nationalist movements. The event, titled "America Reads the Bible" and livestreamed as part of the country's upcoming 250th anniversary celebrations, features an overwhelmingly Republican and evangelical lineup including Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and House Speaker Mike Johnson. Critics have called the initiative a partisan effort to frame America's founding as essentially Christian, with scholars noting the selective participant list undermines organisers' claims that the event is a unifying national project.