https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/thousands-of-trump-bibles-were-printed-in-china-as-he-campaigned-against-trade-practicesWASHINGTON (AP) — Thousands of copies of Donald Trump’s “God Bless the USA” Bible were printed in a country that the former president has repeatedly accused of stealing American jobs and engaging in unfair trade practices: China.Global trade records reviewed by The Associated Press show a printing company in China’s eastern city of Hangzhou shipped close to 120,000 of the Bibles to the United States earlier this year.The estimated value of the three separate shipments was $342,000, or less than $3 per Bible, according to databases that track exports and imports. The minimum price for the Trump-backed Bible is $59.99, putting the potential sales revenue at about $7 million.The Trump Bible’s connection to China reveals a deep divide between the former president’s harsh anti-China rhetoric and his efforts to raise cash while campaigning
>>1351362The Trump campaign did not respond to emails and calls seeking comment.In a March 26 video posted on his Truth Social platform, Trump announced a partnership with country singer Lee Greenwood to hawk the Bibles, inspired by Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA” hit song.In the video, Trump blended religion with his campaign message as he urged viewers to buy the Bible, which includes copies of the U.S. Constitution, Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights and Pledge of Allegiance.“This Bible is a reminder that the biggest thing we have to bring back in America, and to make America great again, is our religion,” Trump said.Trump didn’t say where the “God Bless the USA” Bibles are printed, what they cost or how much he earns per sale. A version of the $59.99 Bible memorializes the July 13 assassination attempt on the former president in Pennsylvania. Trump’s name is stamped on the cover above the phrase, “The Day God Intervened.”The Bibles are sold exclusively through a website that states it is not affiliated with any political campaign nor is it owned or controlled by Trump.The website states that Trump’s name and image are used under a paid license from CIC Ventures, a company Trump reported owning in a financial disclosure released in August. CIC Ventures earned $300,000 in Bible sales royalties, according to the disclosure. It’s unclear if Trump has received additional payments.AP received no response to questions sent to the Bible website and to a publicist for Greenwood.
>>1351363For years, Trump has castigated Beijing as an obstacle to America’s economic success, slapping hefty tariffs on Chinese imports while president and threatening even more stringent measures if he’s elected again. He blamed China for the COVID-19 outbreak and recently suggested, without evidence, that Chinese immigrants are flooding the U.S. to build an “army” and attack America.But Trump also has an eye on his personal finances. Pitching Bibles is one of a dizzying number of for-profit ventures he’s launched or promoted, including diamond-encrusted watches, sneakers, photo books, cryptocurrency and digital trading cards.The web of enterprises has stoked conflict of interest concerns. Selling products at prices that exceed their value may be considered a campaign contribution, said Claire Finkelstein, founder of the nonpartisan Center for Ethics and the Rule of Law and a law professor at the University of Pennsylvania.“You have to assume that everything that the individual does is being done as a candidate and so that any money that flows through to him benefits him as a candidate,” Finkelstein said. “Suppose Vladimir Putin were to buy a Trump watch. Is that a campaign finance violation? I would think so.”There’s a potentially lucrative opportunity for Trump to sell 55,000 of the Bibles to Oklahoma after the state’s education department ordered public schools to incorporate Scripture into lessons. Oklahoma plans to buy Bibles that initially matched Trump’s edition: a King James Version that contains the U.S. founding documents. The request was revised Monday to allow the U.S. historical documents to be bound with the Bible or provided separately.
>>1351364The first delivery of Trump Bibles was labeled “God Bless USA,” according to the information from the Panjiva and Import Genius databases. The other two were described as “Bibles.” All the books were shipped by New Ade Cultural Media, a printing company in Hangzhou, to Freedom Park Design, a company in Alabama that databases identified as the importer of the Bibles.Tammy Tang, a sales representative for New Ade, told AP all three shipments were “God Bless the USA” Bibles. She said New Ade received the orders from Freedom Park Design via the WhatsApp messaging service. The books were printed on presses near the company’s office, she said.Freedom Park Design was incorporated in Florida on March 1. An aspiring country singer named Jared Ashley is the company’s president. He also co-founded 16 Creative, a marketing firm that uses the same Gulf Shores address and processes online orders for branded merchandise.Ashley hung up on a reporter who called to ask about the Bibles. Greenwood is a client of 16 Creative, according to the firm’s website. He launched the American-flag emblazoned Bible in 2021.
>>1351365Religious scholars have denounced the merger of Scripture and government documents as a “toxic mix” that would fuel Christian nationalism, a movement that fuses American and Christian values, symbols and identity and seeks to privilege Christianity in public life. Other critics have called the Trump Bible blasphemous.Tim Wildsmith, a Baptist minister who reviews Bibles on his YouTube channel, said he quickly noticed the signs of a cheaply made book when his “God Bless the USA” Bible arrived in the mail.It had a faux leather cover, and words were jammed together on the pages, making it hard to read. He also found sticky pages that ripped when pulled apart, and there was no copyright page or information about who printed the Bible, or where.“I was shocked by how poor the quality of it was,” Wildsmith said. “It says to me that it’s more about the love of money than it is the love of our country.”
America last my wallet 1st amirightguys?
Pretty sure thus shit is SatanicCaptcha: D00KYH
>>1351362almost like literally everything is produced out of china?
He is a shrewd businessman. The kind of forward thinker that this country needs.
>>1351389Either you're such a moron you completely missed the point or you're pretending to be stupid to avoid acknowledging the clear hypocrisy here.
>>1351390He's a failed businessman who has declared bankruptcy more times than he has children.
>>1351428Most businesses fail so you are not saying much
>>1351433https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump#Business_career>Contrary to his claims of financial health and business acumen, Trump's tax returns from 1985 to 1994 show net losses totaling $1.17 billion. The losses were higher than those of almost every other American taxpayer. The losses in 1990 and 1991, more than $250 million each year, were more than double those of the nearest taxpayers. In 1995, his reported losses were $915.7 million (equivalent to $1.83 billion in 2023)>In 2020, The New York Times obtained Trump's tax information extending over two decades. Its reporters found that Trump reported losses of hundreds of millions of dollars and had, since 2010, deferred declaring $287 million in forgiven debt as taxable income. His income mainly came from his share in The Apprentice and businesses in which he was a minority partner, and his losses mainly from majority-owned businesses. Much income was in tax credits for his losses, which let him avoid annual income tax payments or lower them to $750. During the 2010s, Trump balanced his businesses' losses by selling and borrowing against assets, including a $100 million mortgage on Trump Tower (due in 2022) and the liquidation of over $200 million in stocks and bonds. He personally guaranteed $421 million in debt, most of which is due by 2024.>As of October 2021, Trump had over $1.3 billion in debts, much of which is secured by his assets. In 2020, he owed $640 million to banks and trust organizations, including Bank of China, Deutsche Bank, and UBS, and approximately $450 million to unknown creditors. The value of his assets exceeds his debt.Only a deluded cultist would think this is a good business record.
>>1351450>The value of his assets exceeds his debt.and all that bullshit you wrote is undone.
>>1351390sounds like you are saying he only cares about his wallet and not the american people
>>1351452It's copypasted and no it isn't. It doesn't take into account his criminal penalties.
>>1351428>He's a failed businessman who has declared bankruptcy more times than he has children.I hate blormpf but declaring bankruptcy is a good thing (unless you're the banker LOL)
>>1351746>all creditors are bankersNo they aren't.
>>1351746he also ripped off his workers, is well known to go into restaurants yell out 'put it on my tab' and then dip, and even rip off the venues he holds his rallies at.The guy is a piece of shit and so are his followers
>>1351433>>1351452Mitt Romney used $800 million of his own money in his campaign so that says so much about not only Trump the conman that needs so much of the money from his rubes that say they can't afford gas & groceries so much.
>>1351746>Trust me, being a businessman who has to file bankruptcy because your business fails is a good thing! I can't imagine being this fucking stupid
>>1351832he's not wrong however, you just don't understand how fagots like trump and the rest of the parasite class make their money
>>1351833It's not by being good businessmen.
>>1351833He's very wrong. If you want to crash an economy the rich should stop paying their tab like Trump does.
>>1351788OK so is he bad for ripping off workers or is he bad for ripping off bankers? because the comment I replied to was crying for the bankers who I dgaf about. if you want to make me hate donald tRump then don't base it on a supposed pity I'm supposed to have for international finance
>>1351896He ripped everyone off, Anon, not just bankers and workers, contractors and customers.
>>1351896Understand this then... If he will fuck over everyone else then he will fuck over you too... and honestly he already has you are just too stupid to realize it or you are part of a troll farm which seems more likely.
>>1351898It's called business sense when the jews do it.
>>1351900so you are saying Trump is a jew
>>1351900cool so your good with him using that 'business sense' to fuck over you and the american people?
When the flim flam man comes to town, the fool runs up to hand him his wallet.
>>1351903bankers aren't people
>>1352142you failed remedial English didn't you Ivan
>>1352142>bankers aren't people>Deutsche Bank suspended Trump's account. Was the last established financial institution to give loans to Trump>bankers aren't peopleSo Putin doesn't have the right to have any money. Thanks for admitting that or if you disagree, bankers are superior to you, Trump and Putin, Ivan.
