Oklahoma amends request for Bibles that originally appeared to match solely model backed by Trump

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Oklahoma has amended its request for 55,000 Bibles to be positioned in public colleges that initially matched a model of the holy e-book endorsed by former President Donald Trump.

The request was amended Monday and not requires the Bibles to incorporate U.S. historic paperwork such because the Declaration of Independence and the Structure — necessities that match the “God Bless the USA Bible” that Trump endorsed this yr and which can be a number of occasions dearer than comparable Bibles that do not embody the U.S. paperwork.

The brand new request says the historic paperwork could also be included collectively or individually and extends the deadline for presents to produce the gadgets by one week, from Oct. 14 to Oct. 21.

The request is a part of State Superintendent Ryan Walters’ efforts to require Bibles in public school classrooms, which has been met with resistance by a few of Oklahoma’s largest college districts.

Walters, in a Monday video on X, stated the Bible will likely be used “due to its historic significance all through this nation’s historical past,” blaming what he known as the “pretend information media” for lies about this system.

“The left-wing media hates Donald Trump a lot, they usually hate the Bible a lot, they may lie and go to any means essential to cease this initiative from taking place,” Walters stated.

Walters’ spokesperson, Dan Issett, stated in an announcement that the adjustments to the “request for proposal,” or RFP, had been advised by the Workplace of Administration and Enterprise Companies, which points the requests and had been agreed to by Walters.

“Sadly, there have been false reviews which were repeated by quite a few, supposedly credible, information organizations that the state’s RFP was catered to at least one particular group,” Issett stated, noting that tailoring the request in order that just one producer’s Bible would qualify can be unlawful.

Christa Helfrey, a spokesperson for OMES, stated the adjustments had been made to the request to attempt to save taxpayer cash.

“OMES labored with OSDE to amend the solicitation to offer the listed assets at a a lot better worth to Oklahomans,” Helfrey stated.

The preliminary request included necessities that aren’t generally present in Bibles however are included within the “God Bless the USA Bible,” which Trump urged his supporters to start shopping for earlier this yr at an internet site that sells the e-book for $59.99.

The Bibles have to be certain in “leather-based or leather-like materials for sturdiness,” based on the preliminary request.

Comparable Bibles that do not embody the Declaration of Independence or Structure can be found on-line for lower than $20.