The overflowing news cycle of President Donald Trump has taken another sharp turn with his Monday evening press conference, which he threatened to mobilize the military on U.S. citizens.
Trump stated he would use the 1807 Insurrection Act, which would allow him to use the U.S. military against the protestors and riots across the country.
Prior to the threat, Trump revealed the suggestion to United States governors to use the national guard to “dominate” the cities protesting around the country.
“I am mobilizing all federal and local resources, civilian and military, to protect the rights of law-abiding Americans,” Trump said. “If a city or state refuses to take the actions necessary to defend the life and property of their residents, then I will deploy the United States military and quickly solve the problem for them.”
After speaking in the Rose Garden, Trump strolled to the St. John’s Episcopal Church, which is not too far from the White House. In an effort to clear his path, law enforcement in the area use physical force and deployed tear gas on protesters. Once Trump arrived, he only wanted a photo op, awkwardly holding a bible outside of the building.
Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde who oversees St. John stated she was “outraged” by Trump’s visit to the front of the church.
“Let me be clear: The president just used a Bible, the most sacred text of the Judeo-Christian tradition, and one of the churches of my diocese without permission as a backdrop for a message antithetical to the teachings of Jesus and everything that our churches stand for,” Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde said to CNN.
“And to do so… he sanctioned the use of tear gas by police officers in riot gear to clear the churchyard. I am outraged,” Budde said.
Also critical of his move is former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. “Tonight the President of the United States used the American military to shoot peaceful protestors with rubber bullets & tear gas them. For a photo op. This is a horrifying use of presidential power against our own citizens, & has no place anywhere, let alone in America,” she tweeted.
