Fact Check

Did Trump Hold the Bible Upside Down?

All eyes were on the president as he appeared for a photo-op amid widespread anti-police-brutality protests in June 2020.

by Dan Evon, Published June 25, 2020 Updated Nov. 22, 2021


Image courtesy of BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images


Claim:
U.S. President Donald Trump was photographed holding the Bible upside down outside St John's Episcopal church on June 1, 2020.
Rating:
False

About this rating


Shortly after law enforcement forcibly removed peaceful protesters from an area in front of St. John's Church on June 1, 2020, U.S. President Donald Trump walked over from the White House to take photographs holding a Bible. While many took to Twitter to criticize the use of force on protesters "for a photo-op" (an assertion that was later contradicted by a Department of Interior inspector general's report), some incorrectly claimed that the president was holding the Bible upside down.  Video of the event shows Trump somewhat awkwardly fumbling with the Bible, but photographs from Getty Images and The Associated Press show that Trump was holding this Bible the right way up when he was photographed:

This rumor resurfaced June 25, when Trump took to Twitter to complain it had been repeated on a Fox News program: trump bibleA version of this article was originally published June 3, 2020.


By Dan Evon

Dan Evon is a former writer for Snopes.


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