Bibles endorsed by Donald Trump appears to be the only versions that would be approve for Oklahoma classrooms under the new criteria released by the state’s education department.
On Friday, Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters(R) released a contract to potential bidders to supply the state’s Department of Education with the bibles to incorporate into public school lesson plans.
But, The Oklahoman reported that few editions match the specific criteria the superintendent calls for in his request.
The criteria calls for a Bible that is bound by leather or material like leather, has the Pledge of Allegiance, Declaration of Independence, U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights, and is the New King James version of the Old and New Testament.
A salesperson at Mardel Christian & Education told the outlet that none of the 2,900 Bibles they sell fit the criteria Walters’ office has proposed.
But, there’s one Bible that fits the criteria to a T: Lee Greenwood’s God Bless the U.S.A. Bible, endorsed by Donald Trump and commonly referred to as the Trump Bible.
Another bible that could meet the criteria is ‘We The People Bible’ which is also endorsed by Donald Trump Jr.
Walters is requesting $3 million to buy 55,000 copies of the bibles. The ‘Trump bible’ cost $60 each and Trump is getting a cut of the sales for his endorsement. The ‘We The People Bible’ costs $90.
Colleen McCarty, executive director of Oklahoma Appleseed Center for Law and Justice told The Oklahoman that the request for proposal (RFP)”on its face seems fair, but with additional scrutiny, we can see there are very few Bibles on the market that would meet these criteria, and all of them have been endorsed by former President Donald Trump.”
Former state Attorney General Drew Edmondson raised concerns about the legality of the proposal
“It appears to me that this bid is anything but competitive,” Edmondson told the outlet. “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.”
Still, a spokesperson for Walters office told The Hill that they are expecting “hundreds of Bible publishers” to place their bids once the process opens Monday.
“We are excited to bring back the Bible in its essential historical and literary context to Oklahoma classrooms,” the spokesperson added. “Superintendent Walters has committed the agency to an open and transparent RFP process, consistent with the norms for state procurement, that will be adequate to meet the needs of Oklahoma classrooms.”
