WASHINGTON, DC June 3 (DPI) – Donald Trump outdid even himself Monday with the brazenly cynical publicity stunt of holding up the Holy Bible while posing in front of St. John’s Episcopal Church.
The photo op – which came only after Trump’s security people cleared Lafayette Park in front of the White House of peaceful demonstrators with tear gas – triggered a massive reaction of dismay and astonishment, not simply in the US but around the world. “It’s the ultimate in cynicism,” wrote a poster on NYTimes.com.
Criticism across the internet mocked the president for his brazenly divisive and un-Christian language amid the protests and riots of the last week. And his publicity stunt in front of the Episcopal church felt to many as though a new line had been crossed.
But the silver lining of the sad events of the last few weeks and months – if there is one – is that Trump’s path to re-election grew even narrower. Polls still give Trump as much as 40% of support among eligible voters across the country, but he trails Joe Biden in key swing states.
Moreover, mainstream conservatives of all stripes are getting louder in their criticism of Trump. Former President George W. Bush put out a statement yesterday that didn’t name Trump directly, but called for unity and compassion, and clearly appeared as a show of support for Biden. The conservative commentator George Will stately simply in a recent column that Trump “must be removed.”
As one popular post today on WashingtonPost.com said: ” Never in American history has one man caused so much destruction. We can kiss liberal democracy goodbye if God forbid Trump is re-elected.”
Below is an eyewitness account of events at Lafayette Park on Monday evening, from a woman identifying herself as Gini Gerbasi on Facebook:
Friends, I am ok, but I am, frankly shaken. I was at St. John’s, Lafayette Square most of the afternoon, with fellow clergy and laypeople – and clergy from some other denominations too. We were passing out water and snacks, and helping the patio area at St. John’s, Lafayette square to be a place of respite and peace. All was well – with a few little tense moments – until about 6:15 or so. By then, I had connected with the Black Lives Matter medic team, which was headed by an EMT. Those people were AMAZING. They had been on the patio all day, and thankfully had not had to use much of the eyewash they had made. Around 6:15 or 6:30, the police started really pushing protestors off of H Street (the street between the church and Lafayette Park, and ultimately, the White House. They started using tear gas and folks were running at us for eyewashes or water or wet paper towels. At this point, Julia, one of our seminarians for next year (who is a trauma nurse) and I looked at each other in disbelief. I was coughing, her eyes were watering, and we were trying to help people as the police – in full riot gear – drove people toward us. Julia and her classmates left and I stayed with the BLM folks trying to help people. Suddenly, around 6:30, there was more tear gas, more concussion grenades, and I think I saw someone hit by a rubber bullet – he was grasping his stomach and there was a mark on his shirt. The police in their riot gear were literally walking onto the St. John’s, Lafayette Square patio with these metal shields, pushing people off the patio and driving them back. People were running at us as the police advanced toward us from the other side of the patio. We had to try to pick up what we could. The BLM medic folks were obviously well practiced. They picked up boxes and ran. I was so stunned I only got a few water bottles and my spray bottle of eyewash. We were literally DRIVEN OFF of the St. John’s, Lafayette Square patio with tear gas and concussion grenades and police in full riot gear. We were pushed back 20 feet, and then eventually – with SO MANY concussion grenades – back to K street. By the time I got back to my car, around 7, I was getting texts from people saying that Trump was outside of St. John’s, Lafayette Square. I literally COULD NOT believe it. WE WERE DRIVEN OFF OF THE PATIO AT ST. JOHN’S – a place of peace and respite and medical care throughout the day – SO THAT MAN COULD HAVE A PHOTO OPPORTUNITY IN FRONT OF THE CHURCH!!! PEOPLE WERE HURT SO THAT HE COULD POSE IN FRONT OF THE CHURCH WITH A BIBLE! HE WOULD HAVE HAD TO STEP OVER THE MEDICAL SUPPLIES WE LEFT BEHIND BECAUSE WE WERE BEING TEAR GASSED!!!!
I am deeply shaken. I did not see any protestors throw anything until the tear gas and concussion grenades started, and then it was mostly water bottles. I am shaken, not so much by the taste of tear gas and the bit of a cough I still have, but by the fact that that show of force was for a PHOTO OPPORTUNITY. The patio of St. John’s, Lafayette square had been HOLY GROUND today. A place of respite and laughter and water and granola bars and fruit snacks. But that man turned it into a BATTLE GROUND first, and a cheap political stunt second. I am DEEPLY OFFENDED on behalf of every protestor, every Christian, the people of St. John’s, Lafayette square, every decent person there, and the BLM medics who stayed with just a single box of supplies and a backpack, even when I got too scared and had to leave. I am ok. But I am now a force to be reckoned with