Joint Chiefs chair apologizes for walking with Trump to Bible photo-op: 'I should not have been there'

Mark Milley, Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has issued an apology for joining President Trump on his walk last week to St. John's Church for a photo-op.

"I should not have been there,” Milley said in a commencement address to National Defense University, The New York Times reports. "My presence in that moment and in that environment created a perception of the military involved in domestic politics."

Trump after delivering an address from the White House on June 1 walked across Lafayette Square to St. John's Church so he could hold up a Bible for a photo-op, drawing heavy criticism after police used tear gas to disperse a crowd of peaceful protesters.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Sign up

Milley was among the officials who joined Trump on his walk, and he reportedly said in the commencement address that "as a commissioned uniformed officer, it was a mistake that I have learned from." According to the Times, Milley's friends say he had been "agonized" about his appearance with Trump on the walk, and he reportedly told Trump "that he was angered by what had happened."