Trump Breaks Up Peaceful Protest for Church Photo Op

exGOPer

exGOPer

What a clown

Police and members of the U.S. military were deployed to clear out a peaceful protest outside the White House so President Trump could walk to a church and hold up a Bible for photographers, CNN reports.

The Washington Post reports authorities used rubber bullets, flash bangs and tear gas to clear out the protesters.

Axios: “Every single aide who traveled with him — including chief of staff Mark Meadows, press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, Attorney General Bill Barr, Defense Secretary Mark Esper, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, among several others — was white.”

Budde and other members of the church didn’t know Trump would visit their church until they saw it on the news, they said. Budde ripped Trump for his “abused of sacred symbols” and was “outraged” that her church was used for political gain.

“I am outraged,” Budde said. “The president did not pray when he came to St John’s nor, as you just articulated, did he acknowledge the agony of our country right now

https://www.mediaite.com/trump/i-am...estors-with-tear-gas-to-use-church-as-a-prop/
 
carrer said:
Go and protest elsewhere. The safety of the president is very important.
Nobody is equal, some are more equal than others.
More...
his sham photo op to stroke his brittle ego is not more important.

"When fascism comes to America, it will come wrapped in the flag and waving the cross."

https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-church-photo-op-in-fury-at-bunker-mockery-reports-2020-6
Trump demanded his church photo-op because he didn't like being mocked for hiding from protests in a bunker, reports say
  • President Donald Trump was enraged by coverage of him sheltering in a bunker during protests around the White House, according to several reports.
  • In response, the reports said, he staged a photo op at a nearby church, to demonstrate that he was not afraid to be seen outside, the reports said.
  • To make way for him, police cleared peaceful demonstrators with tear gas, rubber bullets and flash grenades.
  • The president is facing mounting criticism for his response to the unrest that has broken out in cities across the US.
President Donald Trump's anger at criticism for sheltering in a bunker during protests outside the White House spurred him to stage a controversial photo-op outside a church damaged in the protests, according to reports.

In order for the media moment to take place, peaceful demonstrators in Lafayette Square were that evening dispersed by police with tear gas, flash grenades, and rubber bullets to clear the way for the president.

The protests were sparked by the death of George Floyd, a black man who died while being subdued by police in Minneapolis last week.

As the president in a speech in the Rose Garden declared himself "an ally of all peaceful protesters," explosions from the police operation and the shouts of protesters could be heard in the background.

Trump stood outside St John's Episcopal Church, which is just outside the White House. He held a Bible while news cameras rolled, before returning inside.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The scenes outside the White House on Monday ahead of Trump's photo-op, where peaceful protesters ran as clouds of tear gas rolled across Lafeyette Square, drew strong criticism from the bishop who presides over the church.

Episcopal Bishop Mariann Budde, of the diocese of Washington, DC, told The Washington Post that she had not been informed of the president's visit in advance or "that they would be clearing with tear gas so they could use one of our churches as a prop."

"Holding a Bible, one that declares that God is love and when everything he has said and done is to enflame violence. I am beyond," Budde said.
 
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One senior aide was exuberantly telling friends the photograph of him holding a Bible in front of the church that had been attacked by vandals was an “iconic” moment for the president.

But a senior White House official told Axios that when they saw the tear gas clearing the crowd for Trump to walk to the church with his entourage: “I’ve never been more ashamed. I’m really honestly disgusted. I’m sick to my stomach. And they’re all celebrating it. They’re very very proud of themselves.”

 
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