PUBLISHED TO
His all-consuming vanity stung by public knowledge that he had spent
two nights huddled in the White House bunker with the lights turned off,
Donald Trump decided to show the nation what a tough guy he was on
Monday by … walking across the street.
On Monday afternoon, thousands of peaceful protesters outside the White House were surprised when, without warning, they were struck by a sudden barrage of rubber bullets, flash-bang grenades, and tear gas.
As protesters reeled from that assault, hundreds of federal police and National Guard forces, including troops mounted on horseback, drove into the protesters pushing them away from the area. All of this was done so that Donald Trump could cross the street and wave a bible. At a church where he was not invited.
Trump’s demonstration that he was willing to put lives at risk to ease the slightest wound to his ego grew even more transparent on Monday evening as it developed that some of those people who were driven away from the church … were the priests. In harrowing accounts, those priests recounted how both clergy and layworkers at the church were working and speaking with a medical team from Black Lives Matter when Trump’s assault began. And those priests recount how Trump’s federal troops seized the church, drove away those who belonged there, and staged an assault on religion that was far more than a metaphor.
Donald Trump wasn’t invited into St. John’s Church. He didn’t tell the people inside St. John’s Church that he was coming. Instead, Trump surprised the priests, workers, and members of the church with a shocking assault in which they were driven from the building by tear gas, explosives, and rubber bullets. Then shield-swinging federal forces pushed those who were still hanging on from the building and occupied the position.
It was nothing short of a battle, waged against peaceful protesters, priests, and ordinary citizens—on the sole command of Donald Trump, for the express purpose of allowing Trump to walk across the street and hold a bible over his head. That was Trump’s victory; he drove away those who were actually using that church for worship and for following their Christian values, and claimed it for himself.
As one of those priests, Rev. Gini Gerbasi, recounts, “I am deeply shaken. … I am shaken not so much by the taste of tear gas and the bit of cough I still have, but by the fact the show of force was for a photo opportunity. The patio of St. John’s, Lafayette Square, had been holy ground today. But that man turned it into a battle ground first, and a political stunt second. I am deeply offended ...”
Episcopal Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde was equally outraged. “Let me be clear, “ said Budde, “The president just used a Bible, the most sacred text of the Judeo-Christian tradition, at one of the churches of my diocese, without permission, as the backdrop to a message antithetical to the teachings of Jesus and everything that our churches stand for.”
A short time before, Trump had issued a blazing, fascist diatribe from the Rose Garden, claiming that he supported the right of peaceful protest, then giving the green light to anyone who wanted to assault those protesters. That included a deliberate mention of “Second Amendment rights” that was a clear signal to every Trump supporter who has been waiting for the call to unlimber their AR-15.
In a day and a situation when “unprecedented” seems far from adequate, Trump’s march to St. John’s stands out as a signal moment in American history—an image of total disregard for the rights of citizens, for the symbolism of the church, and for the genuine religious concerns of those who worked and worshiped there.
The protesters were peaceful; Trump brought violence. The priests sought unity; Trump brought division. The church was a sanctuary; Trump made it a battleground.
On the basis of this single event alone, Trump should be removed from office. November is far too long to wait.
Surely God was impressed by our pussygrabbing president holding the Bible aloft after his stormtroopers teargassed anyone in his path.
On Monday afternoon, thousands of peaceful protesters outside the White House were surprised when, without warning, they were struck by a sudden barrage of rubber bullets, flash-bang grenades, and tear gas.
As protesters reeled from that assault, hundreds of federal police and National Guard forces, including troops mounted on horseback, drove into the protesters pushing them away from the area. All of this was done so that Donald Trump could cross the street and wave a bible. At a church where he was not invited.
Trump’s demonstration that he was willing to put lives at risk to ease the slightest wound to his ego grew even more transparent on Monday evening as it developed that some of those people who were driven away from the church … were the priests. In harrowing accounts, those priests recounted how both clergy and layworkers at the church were working and speaking with a medical team from Black Lives Matter when Trump’s assault began. And those priests recount how Trump’s federal troops seized the church, drove away those who belonged there, and staged an assault on religion that was far more than a metaphor.
Donald Trump wasn’t invited into St. John’s Church. He didn’t tell the people inside St. John’s Church that he was coming. Instead, Trump surprised the priests, workers, and members of the church with a shocking assault in which they were driven from the building by tear gas, explosives, and rubber bullets. Then shield-swinging federal forces pushed those who were still hanging on from the building and occupied the position.
It was nothing short of a battle, waged against peaceful protesters, priests, and ordinary citizens—on the sole command of Donald Trump, for the express purpose of allowing Trump to walk across the street and hold a bible over his head. That was Trump’s victory; he drove away those who were actually using that church for worship and for following their Christian values, and claimed it for himself.
As one of those priests, Rev. Gini Gerbasi, recounts, “I am deeply shaken. … I am shaken not so much by the taste of tear gas and the bit of cough I still have, but by the fact the show of force was for a photo opportunity. The patio of St. John’s, Lafayette Square, had been holy ground today. But that man turned it into a battle ground first, and a political stunt second. I am deeply offended ...”
Episcopal Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde was equally outraged. “Let me be clear, “ said Budde, “The president just used a Bible, the most sacred text of the Judeo-Christian tradition, at one of the churches of my diocese, without permission, as the backdrop to a message antithetical to the teachings of Jesus and everything that our churches stand for.”
A short time before, Trump had issued a blazing, fascist diatribe from the Rose Garden, claiming that he supported the right of peaceful protest, then giving the green light to anyone who wanted to assault those protesters. That included a deliberate mention of “Second Amendment rights” that was a clear signal to every Trump supporter who has been waiting for the call to unlimber their AR-15.
In a day and a situation when “unprecedented” seems far from adequate, Trump’s march to St. John’s stands out as a signal moment in American history—an image of total disregard for the rights of citizens, for the symbolism of the church, and for the genuine religious concerns of those who worked and worshiped there.
The protesters were peaceful; Trump brought violence. The priests sought unity; Trump brought division. The church was a sanctuary; Trump made it a battleground.
On the basis of this single event alone, Trump should be removed from office. November is far too long to wait.
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