Trump's St. John's Church photo op was reportedly in reaction to reports of him hiding in White House bunker
President Trump had federal military and law enforcement use tear gas and other nonlethal force to clear peaceful protesters from Lafayette Square on Monday evening so he could pose in front of St. John's Church with a Bible in his hand. Why would he do that? In part because he "was angered by coverage depicting him holed up in an underground bunker," CNN reports. "He told aides on Monday he wanted to be seen outside the White House gates, according to a person familiar with the matter." Maggie Haberman at The New York Times said her sources were telling her the same thing.
"Trump and his family were rushed to an underground bunker on the White House complex as protests raged outside the building on Friday evening," CNN says. "Trump wasn't seen on Sunday and spent most of Monday behind closed doors — leading to concern even from his allies that he was absent at a moment of national crisis."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"You know, he always talks about the world laughing, that the world is laughing at the governors right now," Cooper said. "They're not laughing at the governors, they're standing in horror over what is happening. The only people that the world is laughing at is the president of the United States, and this event? As I said, if it wasn't so dangerous and disgusting, it would be funny because it is so low-rent and just sad." Collins comes on at the 4:18 mark. Peter Weber
-
6 of the world’s most accessible destinationsThe Week Recommends Experience all of Berlin, Singapore and Sydney
-
How the FCC’s ‘equal time’ rule worksIn the Spotlight The law is at the heart of the Colbert-CBS conflict
-
What is the endgame in the DHS shutdown?Today’s Big Question Democrats want to rein in ICE’s immigration crackdown
-
Witkoff and Kushner tackle Ukraine, Iran in GenevaSpeed Read Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner held negotiations aimed at securing a nuclear deal with Iran and an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine
-
Pentagon spokesperson forced out as DHS’s resignsSpeed Read Senior military adviser Col. David Butler was fired by Pete Hegseth and Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin is resigning
-
Judge orders Washington slavery exhibit restoredSpeed Read The Trump administration took down displays about slavery at the President’s House Site in Philadelphia
-
Hyatt chair joins growing list of Epstein files losersSpeed Read Thomas Pritzker stepped down as executive chair of the Hyatt Hotels Corporation over his ties with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell
-
Judge blocks Hegseth from punishing Kelly over videoSpeed Read Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth pushed for the senator to be demoted over a video in which he reminds military officials they should refuse illegal orders
-
Trump’s EPA kills legal basis for federal climate policySpeed Read The government’s authority to regulate several planet-warming pollutants has been repealed
-
House votes to end Trump’s Canada tariffsSpeed Read Six Republicans joined with Democrats to repeal the president’s tariffs
-
Bondi, Democrats clash over Epstein in hearingSpeed Read Attorney General Pam Bondi ignored survivors of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and demanded that Democrats apologize to Trump
