« The President did not come to pray; he did not lament the death of George Floyd or acknowledge the collective agony of people of color in our nation, » she said.
A bishop criticized President Donald Trump for making an appearance in front of the historic St. John’s Episcopal Church, without even stopping to pray. Mr. Trump held a Bible and took photos outside the church Monday after authorities used tear gas to clear the yard of protesters.
Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde, who oversees the church and the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, D. C., told « CBS This Morning » Tuesday that she wasn’t informed in advance that the president would visit. She called Mr. Trump’s photo-op a « symbolic misuse of the most sacred texts of our tradition. »
« After speaking so harshly and with militaristic overtones to the nation, he had the park of peaceful protesters cleared with tear gas and officers in riot gear to make a symbolic gesture, holding a Bible as if to spiritually condone a message and a posture that is antithetical to the teachings of Jesus and everything as a church we stand for, » Budde said.
