Seth Meyers used a segment of his "Late Night" monologue to lampoon President Donald Trump after Trump announced he had donated his family’s copy of the Bible to the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C.
Trump, speaking at the nonprofit museum on Monday, said he had delivered the copy that his mother gave him and that he had used the same Bible during both of his inauguration ceremonies. The president has at times called the Bible his "favorite book" and previously promoted a $60 "God Bless The USA" edition of the Bible, which he had printed in hundreds of thousands of copies overseas.
On Tuesday, Meyers seized on the donation for comedic effect, quipping, "And it's even more valuable because it's still in the original wrapping." He later joked, "Either that or he just couldn't remember the word 'church,'" referencing Trump’s remarks at the museum.
Meyers also brought up a controversial item from Trump’s past: an alleged birthday message inside an outline of a woman’s body that appeared in a 2003 "birthday book" associated with financier Jeffrey Epstein. "That's a letter that the current President of the United States sent to the world's most notorious sex trafficker," Meyers said, then added, "Anyway, hope he had a nice time at the Museum of the Bible!"
The jokes came amid renewed attention to how public figures use religious symbolism. Trump’s earlier marketing of a branded Bible and his public statements about scripture have drawn scrutiny: in 2015 he was unable to name a favorite verse and later described his favorite biblical teaching as the commandment of "an eye for an eye."
Meyers’ monologue aired as part of the host’s nightly show and was posted online by media outlets. The segment juxtaposed Trump’s public veneration of the Bible with past controversies and promotional efforts tied to religious items, using humor to highlight perceived inconsistencies in the president’s relationship with religious messaging.
Representatives for the White House and the Museum of the Bible did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The donation itself adds the presidential family copy to the museum’s collection, which presents its holdings as a means to explore the historical and cultural impact of the Bible.