This week, Donald Trump sparked a wave of criticism this week after using a Bible reference to discuss “vulnerable children,” prompting widespread disbelief online and renewed scrutiny of his rhetoric around abuse and exploitation.

During a recent appearance, Trump pivoted to a biblical framing while addressing criticism of how his administration has historically handled migrant children, saying he was guided by Scripture and a desire to “protect the most vulnerable.” But the comment set off an immediate backlash, especially following renewed public attention on the Jeffrey Epstein documents and Trump’s past associations with the financier.

A clip circulating on social media, shared widely on X and TikTok, captured Trump saying, “The Bible tells us to care for the most vulnerable children.” The internet quickly seized on the moment, with users pointing out the dissonance between the biblical appeal and Trump’s record on family separation, detention conditions and other policies that directly harmed minors.

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BuzzFeed noted that the reaction across platforms was remarkably unified: thousands of commenters responded with variations of the same sentiment. Many users highlighted Trump’s close proximity to figures now tied to abuse scandals, while others accused him of leveraging religious language to sanitize policies that caused significant harm. One viral reply read simply: “The Bible? Now?”