WASHINGTON (AP) — Moments after saying that he stood with peaceful protesters on Monday, police under federal command tear gassed peaceful demonstrators so President Donald Trump could walk from the White House to a nearby church and pose with a Bible.
In his speech in the Rose Garden Monday, Trump threatened the nation's governors that he would deploy the military to states if they did not stamp out violent protests over police brutality that have roiled the nation for a week.
Trump's bellicose rhetoric came as the nation convulsed in another round of violence over the death of George Floyd as the country is already buckling under the coronavirus pandemic and Depression-level unemployment. Trump demanded an end to the heated protests in remarks from the Rose Garden and vowed to use more force to achieve that aim.
If governors throughout the country do not deploy the National Guard in sufficient numbers to "dominate the streets," Trump said the U.S. military would step in to "quickly solve the problem for them."
"We have the greatest country in the world," Trump said. "We're going to keep it safe."
The bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington sharply criticized Trump for his staged visit to the historic St. John's Church across from the White House.
The Rev. Mariann Budde, to whose diocese St. John's belongs , said Monday night that she was "outraged" by Trump's visit and that he didn't pray while stopping by the church, a landmark known for its regular visits from sitting presidents since the early 19th century.
"He took the symbols sacred to our tradition and stood in front of a house of prayer in full expectation that would be a celebratory moment," Budde said in an interview after her statement on Trump's visit was posted to the diocese's Twitter account. "There was nothing I could do but speak out against that," she said.
A military deployment by Trump to states would be a stunning federal intervention rarely seen in modern U.S. history. Yet the message Trump sent with the brazen pushback of protesters outside the White House was that he sees few limits to what he is willing to do.
Some around him likened the moment to 1968, when Richard Nixon ran as the law-and-order candidate after a summer of riots, and captured the White House. But despite his efforts to portray himself as a political outsider, Trump is an incumbent who risks being held responsible for the violence.
Minutes before Trump began speaking, police and National Guard soldiers began aggressively forcing back hundreds of peaceful protesters who had gathered in Lafayette Park, across the street from the White House, where they were chanting against police brutality and Floyd's death in Minneapolis. As Trump spoke, tear gas canisters could be heard exploding.
Floyd died last week when he was pinned to the pavement by a police officer who put his knee on the handcuffed black man's neck for more than 8 minutes until he stopped breathing. His death set off protests that spread from Minneapolis across America. His brother Terrence pleaded with protesters on Monday to remain peaceful.
Five months before Election Day, Trump made clear that he would stake his reelection efforts on persuading voters that his strong-arm approach was warranted to quell the most intense civil unrest since the 1960s. He made little effort to address the grievances of black Americans and others outraged by Floyd's death and the scourge of police brutality, undermining his campaign.
The scene in and around the White House on Monday night appeared to be carefully orchestrated. As the crowd of protesters grew, Attorney General William Barr arrived in Lafayette Park to look at the demonstrations and the swarm of law enforcement.