A Mother’s Gift, a President’s Oath: The Story of Donald Trump’s Family Bible
In 1955, a Scottish-born mother named Mary Anne MacLeod Trump handed her young son a Bible. It marked a simple but meaningful milestone: Donald Trump’s graduation from Sunday school at First Presbyterian Church in Jamaica, Queens, New York. He was nine years old. The Revised Standard Version Bible was inscribed with his name and details of the occasion, and signed by church officials. Decades later, that same Bible would rest under the hand of the 45th and 47th President of the United States as he took the oath of office.
From the Isle of Lewis to Queens
Mary Anne MacLeod was born on May 10, 1912, in the village of Tong on the Isle of Lewis in Scotland’s Outer Hebrides. Raised in a Gaelic-speaking Presbyterian household as the youngest of ten children, she grew up in a fishing and crofting community marked by hard work and strong faith. At eighteen she emigrated to New York, eventually marrying real-estate developer Fred Trump. She raised five children in the Presbyterian tradition of her upbringing and remained connected to her Scottish roots throughout her life. She died in 2000 at age 88.
The Bible she gave her son in 1955 was more than a keepsake. It represented the faith she had carried across the Atlantic and sought to pass on. Trump has spoken of it simply and affectionately: “My mother gave me this Bible. This very Bible many years ago. It is very special to me.”
From Sunday School to the Inaugural Platform
That childhood Bible accompanied Trump through the years. In January 2017, as he took the presidential oath, Melania Trump held it (often placed atop the historic Lincoln Bible). The same family Bible was used again for his 2025 inauguration. The Lincoln Bible, first used by Abraham Lincoln in 1861 and later by Barack Obama, carried deep national symbolism. The MacLeod-Trump Bible carried something more personal: a mother’s gift rooted in Sunday school and family faith.
The volume has since been associated with the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C., where it has been displayed among other presidential Bibles. In 2025 Trump formally delivered the family Bible to the museum, noting the Bible’s long role in shaping lives and its place in the American story.
Why a Family Bible Still Matters
Stories like this remind us that Bibles are rarely just books on a shelf. They become markers of moments—graduations, confirmations, quiet evenings of reading, and public vows. A parent’s gift of Scripture can travel farther than anyone imagines: from a Sunday school classroom in Queens to the steps of the U.S. Capitol.
At freebibles.info we believe every person should have access to the Word of God. Whether it is a well-worn family Bible passed down through generations or a brand-new copy placed in the hands of someone who has never owned one, Scripture has the power to shape hearts, homes, and even public life. Mary Anne MacLeod Trump’s simple act in 1955 is a quiet illustration of that truth.
If you do not yet have a Bible of your own, or if you know someone who needs one, resources exist to put the Scriptures into willing hands—at no cost. The same message that a Scottish immigrant mother once placed in her son’s hands continues to be offered freely today.
The Word endures. A mother’s gift can still speak across decades. And the invitation remains open to everyone who will receive it.