On November 3rd, 2018, just days before the United States held hotly-contested midterm elections, rumors appeared of a billboard by the side of a Missouri interstate that featured United States President Donald Trump’s face with a strange, slightly ominous Biblical message:
It references John 1:14, which reads in full:
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
The billboard also displayed the phrase “Make the Gospel great again.”
A billboard on Interstate 170 just south of the St. Louis airport is drawing a lot of talk. Many are calling it offensive and blasphemous. It features President @realDonaldTrump with the Bible verse “The Word became flesh…”
What do you think? @kmov pic.twitter.com/GFSFfcl60y
— Alexis Zotos (@alexiszotos) November 5, 2018
The billboard is real, although it is as yet not clear who commissioned it and why. Local reports make it clear that it was taken down on November 5th, just hours after the first news stories appeared. DDI Media, the company that handled the billboard, made the announcement in a terse Facebook post:
A recent billboard with an image of President Trump has been removed because of its political nature and the fact that it did not disclose the sponsoring organization. The ad did not meet our requirements for political ads and was taken down just a few days after it was placed.
As there is no official word on who sponsored the billboard, it remains unclear whether it was intended as satire, commentary, or true belief.
- Zotos, Alexis. "'Make the Gospel Great Again': Large billboard of Trump removed in North County."
- Relevant Magazine. "What Is St. Louis’ ‘Make the Gospel Great Again’ Billboard Trying to Say?"
- Gardiner, Bo. "Pre-Election Billboard Ads Portray Donald Trump as Second Coming of Jesus."
- NIV Bible. "John 1:14."
- Butler Bass, Diana. "For many evangelicals, Jerusalem is about prophecy, not politics."