As shown below, this genuine quote from Biden was stripped of its context by some online users. When Biden said these words in April 2024, he was specifically referring to the Bible his political rival, former President Donald Trump, had become involved with for monetary gain — the "God Bless the USA" Bible.
On April 23, 2024, U.S. President Joe Biden delivered remarks about abortion rights during a campaign stop at Hillsborough Community College in Tampa, Florida. During his speech, he spoke about the state of Florida's legislation proposing a six-week abortion ban. He also criticized his political rival former President Donald Trump for bragging about overturning Roe v. Wade.
The next day, the conservative blog The Daily Wire posted video from Biden's speech on X (formerly Twitter). The text in the post included a quote from Biden and six words written as commentary by The Daily Wire.
The Biden quote read, "I almost wanted to buy one just to see what the hell's in it." The added commentary from The Daily Wire said, "Joe Biden, talking about the Bible."
While the video included more of Biden's remarks, the text of this post was misleading. The apparent assertion by The Daily Wire's text commentary was Biden — who is Catholic — was broadly criticizing the teachings of the Bible.
Snopes contacted The Daily Wire by email to ask about the post but did not receive a response after about three hours.
The video in The Daily Wire's post was originally uploaded by X user Acyn Torabi (@Acyn) — a researcher and senior digital editor for the progressive network Meidas Touch. This fact was noted under The Daily Wire's post with the clickable words, "From Acyn."
Torabi's post included the context of Biden's remark. It read, "Biden: Trump described the Dobbs decision as a miracle. Maybe it's coming from that Bible he's trying to sell. Woah, I almost wanted to buy one to see what the hell is in it." This text was visible to The Daily Wire when they were deciding on the commentary they would add to their own post.
As the video and Torabi's caption show, Biden's remark about wanting to see "what the hell's in it" was a very specific reference to the "God Bless the USA" Bible, which Trump has promoted for monetary gain. The special Bible includes copies of the U.S. Constitution, Bill of Rights, Declaration of Independence, Pledge of Allegiance and handwritten chorus to Lee Greenwood's "God Bless the USA."
Snopes found some other posts from users who apparently believed Biden was chastising the Bible in a general sense.
For further reading, we previously reported the facts about Trump's licensing deal that allows him to profit from the "God Bless the USA" Bible.