Trump should read Bible he held up as a prop
Just when you think things in this country cannot get any worse, the supposed leader of this country finds a new level of low.
After a week of protests, violence and looting, President Donald Trump finally took a break from his Twitter account to put in an appearance on Monday.
Not to lead us out of this moment but to toss a few more gallons of gas onto the flames.
It’s bad enough that Trump threatened to put soldiers on the streets of America rather than using his Rose Garden speech to calm the streets of America.
He then used a peaceful protest in the park next to the White House as a prop.
A half hour before Washington’s 7 p.m. curfew — as Trump was vowing to send “thousands and thousands of heavily armed soldiers, military personnel and law enforcement officers” onto the streets — federal officers began firing rubber bullets, flash bangs and what was described as tear gas into the crowd where people were dancing and singing as a woman played the guitar.
This, to clear the way so that Trump could take a stroll through Lafayette Square to St. John’s Episcopal Church, where he proceeded to hold up a Bible and pose for the photographers.
Protesters, meanwhile, stumbled away from the area, bruised and bleeding.
As an Episcopalian, it was painful to watch this guy use my church as a prop – as the base of some moral authority that exists only in his own head.
As a Christian, it was astonishing to watch him hold a holy book that teaches us to “do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with your God.”
As an American, it was beyond outrageous to watch this guy use my fellow citizens as a prop.
Really, I have no words.
Rep. Andy Biggs found some words: “The thin blue line, Attorney General Barr, and President @realDonaldTrump are taking actions that will hopefully result in a return to civilization and the rule of law,” he tweeted, along with a photo of Trump and walking through Lafayette Square, en route to the church.
So did Rep. Paul Gosar, by retweeting the photo, along with a Students For Trump tweet: “This is leadership.”
State Republican Party Chairwoman Kelli Ward was all a’tingle with excitement, judging by the number of emojis and pictures attached to her tweet: “President @realDonaldTrump walks through Lafayette Park to St. John’s Church. He hoists the Bible and says, “We have the greatest country in the world!”
Fortunately, the Right Rev. Mariann Budde also had words.
She’s the Episcopal bishop for
Washington, a leader of souls who wasn’t afraid to call out a president who is sorely in need of one. She was aghast at what she saw: “clearing (the area) 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 inflame violence.”
Trump is not a member of St. John’s. In fact, Budde said the only time he’s ever darkened the door of the place was on the morning of his inauguration. In other words, for another photo op. What is needed so badly in this country right now is a healer, a person possessed not just of sabers to rattle and weapons to deploy but of empathy and understanding. A person who can lead us out of this moment into a better day.
Instead, we get Trump standing in front a church he doesn’t attend with a book I suspect he never opens.
God help us all.