st. john's.nd here we are, and i also want to point out he's with the secretary of defense, the attorney general william barr and jared kushner is in this group as i saw a moment ago. they are walking over to the boarded up doors of st. john's church, as the president gets to look at what has happened. and this is just a landmark. this is a yellow building that everybody sees in the middle of the screen. those are some of the offices and the nursery that goes along with this very historic church. and i apologize. the camera work is tricky here because they are literally chasing the president as he makes this really, i think i'm a significant moment journey across this park to witness some of the damage done so we are going to wait. the president standing in front of this building of st. john's, karl. >> martha, look at that. that great historic -- >> president trump: we have a great country, that is my thoughts. it won't take long. it's not going to take long to see what is going on. it's coming

st. john's church. it all began shortly after 6:00 p.m., the hour before washington's curfew took effect. the protesters had gathered just a block from the white house gate. as the president prepared to speak in the rose garden, our camera spotted attorney general bill barr surveying the scene. abc news has learned the attorney general then gave the order to remove the protesters by force. and so it began, continuing even as the president was saying these words. >> i am your president of law and order and an ally of all peaceful protesters. >> reporter: you could hear the explosions from the rose garden. smoke canisters, and pepper balls to force the protesters away. among those roughed up an australian tv crew. the photographers hit in the face. his colleague hit with a baton as she tried to flee. after he was done speaking, the president, accompanied by top advisers, walked to st. john church, crossing the street where protesters had gathered less than an hour earlier. in front of the church, the pres

st. john's available for protesters if they are allowed to be in the area? >> well, you know, st. t federal property. they can close off the streets, but if people want to gather, then, yes, of course they can gather. you see young people especially idealistic people of any age, they can't -- they will rise to this and they will respond from the emotion and idealism of their hearts and we -- we need to meet them there. we need to meet them there and to say that the -- the god who put those aspirations in your heart is with you and we are with you. and that we need to step down the intensity of the emotions that can lead to violence. we need to put a boundary around opportunists who would use this moment for personal gain or to insight further agitation. we need to stop all of those things. we need to -- we need to walk alongside those who have dedicated their lives to public service in any uniform. and i just -- we'll do whatever it takes. but there is no substitute on the part of the citizenry when our elected leaders fail us. and we have to find and elect the leaders who will sta

st. john's for that walk to st. john's. an incredibly here in past 12 hours the nation's capital as cities around the country have also grappled with this. francine: what does this mean for the election? i was reading a number of opinion pieces yesterday saying that the more protests there are, the more the president trump base stays firm and the more there is a chance he gets reelected in november. election,terms of the the president is trailing in national polls by an average of about 7% to 10%. if you look at swing states such as wisconsin and michigan, it is closer. joe biden is expected to deliver remarks in philadelphia later today. eitan also yesterday was asked -- biden yesterday was asked in a primarily african-american church, in his home state of theware -- you know, president is invoking law & order. this was a theme in his first hepaign, and something that is clearly doubling down on. that said, yes, conservatives feel that this will play well to the president's base. however, democrats would argue that he is a

st. john's episcopal church. joining us now, the rector at st. 's episcopal church in georgetown but was in lafayette park yesterday to support protesters. reverend, thank you for joining us. what did you see on the ground, i guess you were on the patio of st. john's, because the armored law enforcement officers showed up with gas and flashbangs and the like. >> so what i saw was a peaceful protest. and what i had seen all day was people using that space as really a respite, a place for prayer or to sit. there was some shade at one point. and as we got around 6:15 or 6:30, what i began to see was the police that had previously been deep into lafayette park beginning to move toward "h" street. and out of the corner of my eye, because i was like helping wash people's eyes out from having gotten gas or pepper spray or something in them, i literally saw out of the corner of my eye police beginning to come up "h" street on horseback. and i at that point had gotten -- began to work with the black lives matter sort of medical support volunteers. and we w

st. john's church is on fire.the paris office we went downstairs and it is on firebird i will walk this way and this is awful. we saw graffiti and once the door was broken and we saw something similar happened earlier and as you can see there is a fire here but this is a parish office. come on back. come back up. that's good. they are to clear the area, shannon, with the pepper spray. and they are using teargas to clear people. i don't think there's anything we can do to put that out. i don't see and distinguish urban we are back out here. eyes are burning a bit as you can imagine and we try to disperse the crowd and hopefully fire personnel will get over here to put out some of these fires, shannon. it's a sad scene. it's a beautiful church. historic, as you know. we are only in the parish office but st. john's church is a landmark in many ways. it's very difficult to see this building go up in flames. hopefully they can get here and put out the fire. that is what we're seeing right now for channon, back to you.

st. john's. significantly away. in an operation like that it's not in the have a sinity of the president. your insinuation that somehow the police department was involved in the presidential movement is inaccurate. i'll look back and make sure that was the case. reporter: you are aware your officers forcibly moved the protestors, one of the protestors punched one of your officers? chief newsham: i can tell you this we were not involved in the movement of the president. the unplanned movement of the president. reporter: could you tell us, you said the d.c. police department did not participate in the federal action yesterday around the white house and lafayette park. had you been asked to? you said you only learned of it shortly before it happened. had you been asked to participate? or did you just not know about it? chief newsham: prior to the event we had drawn clear areas of responsibility with our federal partners. that area down there, right to the north of lafayette square, was a federal responsibility. reporte

if the president is going to st. johns episcopal church for a photo opportunity. >> and we're told he is. we're now hearing, jim, that's where the president is going and that's why the police decided to clear out this area. the president wants to have a photo-op over at the church. >> reporter: that's an extraordinary use of man power for a photo opportunity, wolf. because keep in mind as we have all been seeing over the last couple of days these protests that are gathered at thop of lafayette park which is just across the street from the st. johns episcopal church, that is a massive deploy 789 of forces to clear out what was a very large crowd demonstrating against what we've been seeing over the last couple of days and the death, of course, of george floyd. but, wolf, you know, using the 1807 insurrection act for this purpose, that's one thing for calming things down, getting things under control. that's controversial enough. but to use this law and invoking that law to clear out the park so the president can go to the c

st. john's church. st. john's again known as the church of the president because since it was erected in 1816, every president at some point has worshipped there. there was also the scene of a significant amount of violence two nights ago. fire set in the basement of that church. the director there gave me a tour of what's left for his nursery. as you can see there, not a whole lot. here's part of what he had to say -- >> i don't think it's right for me to speak on behalf of any parishioner but i can speak on my own, i forgive that person. >> why? because that is -- >> they know not what they do. we have to learn to talk again in this country. one belief i have about conversation is you're not really listening unless you're willing to have your opinion changed by what you want to hear. to be theological, i believe the heart is a god-shaped heart of all of us. the heart is oriented towards god, it's our gps. >> the bishop there.

st. john's -- i think by going to st. john's and making it clear, that is the answer.he ultimate answer to what ails this country, including in the original sin of racism, his faith in god and redemption through jesus christ. that is the ultimate answer. it doesn't mean we don't do things as public policy to weress grievances and ensure address justice and that we ensure a fair shot for every american regardless of their ethnic background or the color of their skin, to be able to chase and pursue the american dream as far as their talents and abilities will carry them. all of those policies and measures alone will not ensure repentance by those who have committed injustice and forgiveness by those who have been the victims. i think it was good for him to go to a house of worship, particularly when liquor stores and massage parlors and abortion clinics have been allowed to be open during the covid-19 pandemic, but churches have been ordered closed and christians have been arrested and given citations for trying to worship. i am glad he did it. frankly he does not need t

right over to live footage just outside of the white house there looks like just before the st john's church that was devastated by a fire this week thousands of protesters there peacefully sitting out. disobeying the 7 pm curfew set by marriage vows or as you can see there a sea of people it looks to be in the thousands. there shouting hands up don't shoot there's st john's church where president took the bible for a photo op. in every direction protesters all out front of the white house right now after the 7 o'clock curfew here in washington d.c. the nation's capital. in response to the massive protests across the country some lawmakers are proposing reforms in hopes of reducing the number of americans being killed by police officers and change the way police respond to protests are these racial blevins is joining us now live in studio with more on this subject so rachel what are lawmakers doing to try to make change at least in the way of police reform well at the heart of these nationwide protests there is a call for. ability many advocates are saying that one of the 1st steps th

st. john's church.e teargas and i understand from what kristin fisher just reported, they asked three times for them to clear up peacefully and they refused. that's not a peaceful protest. and it's not a photo op. the president of the united states is sending a signal, we are not going to let people burn down churches or burn down businesses. we have 40 million people who loss of jobs, and all of a sudden they just got back to work. all of a sudden they can't work because businesses are being burned to the ground. president has a responsibility to restore law and order in the country and he's trying to do it. >> ed: i have a friend who though owns a restaurant in new york and has lost hundreds of thousands of dollars. windows are smashed, the restaurant was ransacked so that is what happened to one small owner. >> is not just the owners but the workers. >> thanks guys. amid all the chaos and cities nationwide, elections are underway in nine states. some of those measures in place as a voters head to the

st. john's episcopal church, a historic church close by to the white house. here is what marian edgar buttle, the bishop of the episcopal archdiocese of washington had to say about what the president did. she made a statement that outlined the president's abuse of their church for his political purposes. and then the church itself issued the following statement, and i should point out, madam president, that the pastor of the church and many of the parishioners were at the protest and providing water and nutrition to some of the protesters. here's what the leaders of the church said. we at st. john's church were shocked at the surprise visit from the president this evening, and even more appalled at the violent clearing of lafayette square to make the visit possible. st. john's is a community that welcomes all, from powerful presidents to the homeless to worship god. we fully espouse the words of our baptismal covenant which says in part that we will, quote, strive for justice and peace among all people and respect the dignity of every human being, unquote. li

st. john's walk over and then the d.c. archbishop who also weighed in.on the reaction to that and its impact. >> i think the reason is the walk last night got such a huge reaction was because the protesters there, they were not looting and rioting and setting fires. they were peacefully protesting. you could say that because we were all watching on our television screen. and it was the act of pushing them back, using i think, we shouldn't conflate rioters, looters with peaceful protesters who were exercising their constitutional right. we are doing so in a responsible and peaceful way. and i think that's where it got such a reaction. >> bret: yeah, i guess the problem is a lot of these protests, they start peaceful and it gets to night time and they are co-opted by rioters and looters. we have seen this damage across the country. >> yeah, bret, that is the unfortunate part. there has been a lot of talk about the phrase law and order. the reason is there are several components of that. we have to address them all. when it comes to law and order, you have

st. john's church but at the national cathedral. it wasn't sufficient in 1965 or '64 or '67 or in 1619 when the first slaives were brought here. it's an immensely complicated question. another level, it's not. that is dr. king's great brilliance. and that is to say, simply, did america mean what it said when we said that we were founded on the idea that all men were created e equal. if we didn't mean it, we e e should stop pretending and acknowledge our hypocrisy. they are e enormously important questions and they occur again and again and again in the american experience. we need a president. we need a citizenry that is interested in exploring complexity. not one that is interested in brute shows of force in this --ly use the word. the president is drawing on a dictatorial vernacular. it's an e enormously tense moment, in the basing separation of laws and the solve veteranve the people. >> the president held a call with one of the governors today. one of the governors who was on the call will join us next. stay with us. world war t

st. john's today. we went to the st. john paul ii shrine where the first lady laid a wreath commemorating the 41st anniversary of his 100th birthday. and now moments later, an executive order on religious liberty. why do i say that? that's the best answer to the question that you asked about the episcopal minister. that is not her church, her bible. we tonight look into other people's hearts and souls and discern and judge what their faith is. why the president felt compelled to walk there, why he held that bible up, that is a symbol to everyone that we will not allow arsonists and anarchists that demean the memory of those that lost their lives in the name of their respective faith and religions. we won't allow them to dissuade us from practicing our religion. >> harris: you know, i mentioned that was coming up on "outnumbered" last hour. now it's confirmed, the president signing the order on religious liberty. we know at the rose garden that he was moving toward doing something -- churches were not allowed to open up ac

st. john's church for a photo op. today, joe biden delivering a speech in philadelphia. >> using tear gas and flash grenades to stage a photo op, a photo op. one of the most historic churches in the country, at least in washington, d.c. we can be forgiven for believing the president is more interested in power than in principle. >> and meanwhile, the family of george floyd whose killing in police custody eight days ago fueled the nationwide bro tests, said that biden would be attending his funeral in to texas next week. and minneapolis, a service is set for thursday. protestors gathered for a second day at the site where the 46-year-old father of two died. today the state of minnesota filed a human rights complaint against the minneapolis police department in connection with floyd's death. we're going to have more on that part of the story later on in the hour. president trump's response to what he is seeing, to continue putting the pressure on governors like the aforementioned governor of new york, andrew cuomo, to c

st. john's episcopal church for that photo op yesterday. again, very clear what the president here is ultimately doing. john, the president wants this approach to be followed by others as well. yesterday on a call with governors, he berated them, saying that most of you are weak and urging them strongly to call up their state national guards in order to bring a military presence, military footprints to tamping down these protests across the country. you also mentioned, john, that tweet from the president this morning talking about total domination. this is, again, total domination not over the looting and the rioting that we had seen several nights ago in washington, d.c. last night, john, those protests remained peaceful almost entirely throughout, and yet the president this morning congratulating himself and talking about overwhelming force. john? >> that is the distinction the president clearly does not get. looting and violence should not be tolerated. those people across the street in lafayette park were doing as they are gifted to do a

st. john's. we in the episcopal church believe that the issues of racial and social justice are core tenets of the christian faith. the bible teaches all human beings are created in the likeness and image of god. are created in the likeness and image of god. as children of god, all are to be treated with equal dignity and respect. embedded in our nation's history and institutions is a shameful abuse of black americans and other persons of color justified by the sinful notion of white supremacy, that whiteness is the human standard from which all other human beings deviate and are somehow less human, less worthy of equal treatment. and as christians we are called by god to rectify that injustice. our faith compels us to join those around the country and the globe who have engaged in nonviolent protests to call for an end to racist policies and practices, , and is a clearly, with one voice, that black lives matter. now for episcopalians the issue of racial justice is a shameful part of our history,

st. john's because he wanted to pray, if he had come to st. john's to lament the death of george floyd and the grief that has been unleashed across our country, if he had come to offer words of solace and healing and resolve, to bind the wounds of our nation, that would have been an appropriate use of the sacred symbol of walking across the park to the church. but he did none of those things. in fact, he used -- he used the church and he used the bible in some ways as symbols to demonstrate or to symbolize american military power. first let me say, st. john's is not my church. it is a house of god. it is a house of god for all people. and the only reason it's the president's church is because from time to time presidents worshipped there. they worshipped god there in communion with other people. that is the purpose of a church. so that's simply what i am here to say. but i don't want this night to be remembered for that. our focus needs to be on our nation's grief and demand for systemic change and justice and an acknowledgement that lives are

rather saying that he thought he was only going to be doing 2 things one to go see the damage at st john's church and to talk to the troops in lafayette park that's directly across the street from the white house he also pushed back on the media saying that what was reported was an accurate take a listen national guard forces did not fire rubber bullets were tear gas into the crowd as reported 2nd guardsmen were instructed to wear helmets and personal protective equipment for their own protection not to service some form of intimidation. now melissa miller you also had others that were part of that walk to st john's church one of them actually being the nation's highest ranking military officer also piggybacking off that esper statement saying that they also had no idea about that picture but again looking at this picture it's the guy all the way on the left who was part of that walk over to st john's church and that's what's causing problems and ever and this is also getting a lot of attention from senators who are busy right now trying to pass another stimulus bill for the covert 19 pand

st john paul the 2nd national shrine and later on he signed an executive order to advance international religious freedom so all despots of course meant to activate his christian base however we also have to say that he's and it capability of of unifying the nation accent sending a message of unity to come towards the nation to to address the root cause of the crowd just by doing so he is risking losing very important voter groups such as suburban women and independent voters alexandra phenomena with a view from washington thank you. well some major media companies are joining performers and activists in a day of solidarity in response to the death of george floyd in minneapolis they are calling it black out tuesday the effort may be having some unintended consequences reporter william croft here in the studio to tell us a little bit more about that side of the story so what's been the response so far well you know the popular expression the show must go on no matter what the show must go on that's actually not what's happening here organizers are saying the show must be paused as actio

st. john's episcopal church.cretary esper telling reporters he was unaware of the president's plans and that he believed they were going outside to look at the damage in lafayette park and to thank members of the national guard who had been called in. instead, though, he ended up being part of that all-white trump administration lineup that took part in a photo op in front of st. john's episcopal church, very clearly there staging and posing for a photo. we saw them do that, it seemed very deliberate, as one would do when they're posing for a photo. esper also distanced himself from the president's threat to invoke the insurrection act and deploy troops to quell protests around the country. >> the option to use active-duty forces if a law enforcement role should only be used as a matter of last resort and only in the most urgent and dire of situations. we are not in one of those situations now. i do not support invoking the insurrection act. >> cnn's kaitlan collins is at the white house. she joins me now. and ka

st. john's to be a space for peace, a place you can breathe. being used as a problep, it rea takes away from what we are trying to do. one seminarn and one priest cleared from the area outside st. john's as the president marched over wrote in a facebook post that she is, quote, now a force to be reckoned with. and then there was the presiding bishop of the entire episcopal church, michael curry, who even if you're not an episcopalian you will recognize from his presiding over the royal wedding in 2018 and the beautiful funeral service for former president george h.w. bush. he is the head of the entire episcopal church. and after what happened with the tear gassing and the trampling of those protesters so the president could hold a photo op in front of an episcopal church, he has released this statement. quote, this evening the president of the united states stood in front of st. john's church, lifted a bible, and had pictures of himself. he used a church building and the holy bible for partisan political purposes. this was done in a time of dee

st. john's church.ay, he visited john paul the second national shrine and after that, he signed an executive order to advance international religious freedom. all of that is meant to show his christian base he is advancing their interests. his appearance at the st. john's church was criticized by many religious leaders, but some evangelical pastors said they were pleased with this photo op and they are happy with the president. however, not addressing the root cause of the protest. he is risking to lose other important voter groups such as suburban women and independent voters who could be very important in november. brent: that is a very good point. alexandra there outside the white house in washington. not just in washington but huge marches are underway in new york, los angeles and in houston, texas, george floyd's birthplace. these protests are residing in other parts of the world. thousands have been taking to the streets to show solidarity with protesters also turning the spotlight on injustice an

st. john's church. the mayor extending a curfew for two days, starting at 7:00 p.m. >> we do not, and we will not, allow the continued destruction of our hometown. >> in minneapolis, terrifying moments after thousands of protestors moved onto a freeway, a semi-truck nearly barreling into them. no one was injured except for the 35-year-old driver, who was beaten by protestors, and arrested and charged with assault. the video of floyd's death, prompting a deep shock to the nation's soul. in new york city, some police officers knelt before protestors, in a sign of how floyd's cruel death has affected them. and in flint, michigan, the sheriff joined protestors. >> we want to be with y'all, for real. so i took my helmet off. they laid their batons ndown. i want to make this a parade, not a protest. >> for america's children, race and equality, now front-page news. >> thanks to cnn's miguel marquez for that report. >>> you're watching cnn. still to come here. from amsterdam to berlin to rio de janeiro, thousa

st. john's church yesterday. i just wish he opened it once in a while. >> mean mile in new york city looters vandalized stores from macy's on herald square to the bronx. and protesters were peaceful after an impassioned plea from floyd's younger brother. and the autopsy reporting floyd's death was homicide from asphyxiation. and they released their private autopsy saying it was caused not only by one officer's knee but two others who were blocking george floyd's ability to breathe by compressing his lungs from his back. the family demanding murder charges against all of the others as well. joining me now, nbc white house correspondent and weekend "today" co-host, kristen welker. figliuzzi, the former assistant of the fbi counterintelligence division and staffer to leon panetta from the cia. kristen, let's talk about the president, the decision first of all to say he's mobilizing the military, which is controversial and ambiguous legally, and his decision to do that walkabout. you were right there. as announced he

st. john's. we talked about what a historic landmark that is and how every president since james madison has visited there .it is a place many of those presidentshave sought refuge.they have sought spiritual guidancein the country's darkest moments and we just thank god tonight those firefighters are safe and they were able to preserve that little bit of history that isimportant in washington . standby and i want to bring in attorney and retired homicide detective from washington had williams still with us. it looks like the streets have been quieted tonight , it seemed like an hour ago it was going to be tough to get there but now it seems like we have a lowland the storm, what are your thoughts ? >> that's very good news and i certainly hope that the plan that the metropolitan police department along with the other federal agencies have put in place will quell the crowd but i've been through this rodeo before in washington dc and elsewhere and i can tell you that there's always planning in thes

we saw the president go to the st. john paul ii national shrine, trying to court supporters even as there is massive unrest across the country, brianna. >> boris, thank you for showing us the scene there. >>> the president is waging another twitter war now against how governors and mayors are handling protests in their cities and states. he says they should be activating the national guard and deploying them. with me now, cnn chief political analyst gloria gloria and tim natalie. what is the president trying to accomplish here? >> i think what the president is doing is what he's done his entire presidency which is reach out to his base rather than trying to unite the entire country country. in doing that and staging in sophomoric stunt that he did last night by walking outside brandishing the bible and then walking back, what he did was call for law and order. today we heard him tweet about the silent majority. tim knows more about this than i do, but that certainly sounds nixonian to me, going back to the '60s and '70s and

st. john's episcopal church near the white house.he bishop of that church is ons to clear his path. >>> despite the protests in at least 140 cities and the coronavirus restrictions today is primary day in seven states and the district of columbia. >> the pandemic is forcing changes in both voting procedures and campaigning. all the states and d.c. are encouraging voting by mail. it's resulted in a surge in requests for absentee ballots. in april virus cases spiked this wisconsin after that state's in-person primary. >>> about a month since president trump ordered atpaing, covid-19 cases are increasing among their workers. more than 23,000 workers have tested positive. advocates say many workers still don't have adequate protective gear. the federal government still has not announced additional safety standards for the plants. >>> major european tourist sites are reopening, including the vatican museums, after a three-month shutdown. attendance was sparse on monday. visitors are required to wear face masks, make reservations, and ha s

now we know the president is going to have a photo-op over at this st. johns church right across the street from the white house. our special live coverage continues here on cnn with erin burnett out front. >>> and good evening. i'm erin burnett. this is the breaking news coverage continuing as you see. violence rocking washington, you're looking at st. johns episcopal church right now. this is live picture. the president is anticipated as part of a photo-op he wants to do walking over there in a couple of moments. moments ago police fired tear gas on protesters, rubber bullets. you could hear that. you could hear that actually in the rose garden where the president then went and gave his brief comments. military police are now on the scene surrounding parts of the white house. and this unrest is taking place even though a curfew as i speak is now 45 seconds into effect starting at 7:00 p.m. the chaos taking place at the same time as i said the president was just speaking. he said about himself i am your president of law and order, saying he will deploy the mi

st. john's? >> no. no. he's not. >> reporter: and getting back to what we were seeing just outside the white house, i want to point out this about 8-foot fence that was put up overnight. it blocks all access to lafayette park. you see there are fbi agents out here, secret service agents, we've seen local police. they have blocked off traffic for around three blocks around the white house only to official use. they're also handling protestors differently. you see many of them are not actually on the street. they've been having them stay on the sidewalk. things a little bit quieter here today. we'll see how things unravel as the day goes on. jim, poppy? >> boris, thank you. powerful to see that image of all those black faith leaders gathered at st. john's this morning. let's go to new york now where an officer is recovering this morning but still in serious condition after a video captured a shocking hit and run last night in the middle of the chaos. our national correspondent brynn gingras joins us this morn

st. john's. president trump went to go see st. john and what had happened, stand there for a moment. of course, the media mocked him. the democrats went after him. nancy pelosi decided to read a passage from the bible. let me get your reaction to the clip and destruction we are seeing in our communities. rep. scalise: my heart dropped when i heard the reports st. john's church was burning. initially they didn't know how bad it was. you think about the history of the church and what it represents to our country. to think that was burning down. in this country, they are threatening some people to be arrested if you go to church, and yet they are allowing a church to be burned down in washington, d.c. it was heartbreaking. i'm sure there were miracles that happened to save the church. it opened people's eyes to the fact that we are all in unison that george floyd should not have been murdered that day and the minneapolis police have real issues they have got to deal with. but at the same time, to burn a church down and to burn cities down is not the answer. mercedes: i think we want to

st. john's church. he joined the president and then later that night he went out on patrol and he said he wanted to take a look at some of the national guard activity around washington, d.c. listen here to the perspective of the chairman of the joint chiefs. >> just allow freedom to assemble and freedom of speech, that's perfectly fine. we support that. we took an oath to the constitution of the united states of america and to protect he know's rights. we have the d.c. national guard out here and i'm just checking to see how well they're doing, that's all. >> he's not the commander of the d.c. national guard. he is the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff and adviser to the president, the nation's top, if you will, policy-maker on military matters. is that inappropriate at all for the chairman of the joint chiefs? >> i don't think it was the best use of his time last night for him to be out there among the troops. i think you're looking at 40 years of leadership of army soldiers, many of those years in

st. john's, marrian budde. called into anderson cooper last night to express her feelings. >> 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. and to do so, as you just said, he sanctioned the use of tear gas by police officers and riot gear to clear the church yard. i am outraged. >> stephen: she's right to be outraged. in fact, i'm sure the bishop would've tried to block trump but, unfortunately, she can only move diagonally. ♪ ♪ >> stephen: it's not like trump's a church regular, as the bishop told cbs' gayle king on "cbs this morning" this morning. >> does president trump go to that church, your church, on a regular basis? >> no, no. he's rarely in church, and the only time he's been to st. john's, to my knowledge, was on the morning of his inauguration. >> stephen: it was memorable, because trump descr

st. john's episcopal last night, hoisting a bible. that infuriated the episcopalians, the bishop said that was against everything the church stands for. park police used pepper rounds and flashbangs to clear the way on peaceful protesters. park police say they did not use tear gas but they did use smoke. either way, the protesters were legally in the park before curfew. here is the episcopal bishop. >> consider the context, after making a highly-charged, emotional speech to the nation where he threatened military force, his officials cleared peaceful protests with tear gas and horses and walked onto the courtyard of st. john's church and held up a bible as if it were a prop or an extension of his military and authoritarian position and stood in front of our building as if it were a backdrop for his agenda. >> reporter: the head of the entire episcopal church in the recall michael curry from the he delivered at the royal wedding of harry and meghan. the presiding bishop and highest official for the church in america says st. john's was

president looking at this image in the st john's episcopal church. the church was built in the 1864 viewers 16 rather 1816 so i said hundreds of years. now getting some clarification question the u.s. president standing in front of that church on h. street the street intersecting. next. is 16th street in northwest washington for our viewers who are familiar with washington the u.s. president i believe is holding a bible but i can't confirm that affliction. if . you. take. the never. hear the whole thing. but welcome to our jersey or if you're just joining us here it is now 2310 g.m.t. it's darren jordan here in doha and we're bringing you shocking scenes from the streets of the u.s. capitol and this unscripted unprecedented drama unfolding on our t.v. screens now of president trump leaving the white house walking across the lawn through the gates across 8th street to the senate john's episcopal church holding up a bible pure optics pure drama totally unprecedented all the others are the scenes you're seeing on your screen now president trump was foll

st. john's church. he was taking back the city but was criticized heavily for taking a hard line on the rioters and the use of tear gas to ensure the president's safety. the president said security, not anarchy. the nation remains on edge. the anger is building. america surely does not look kindly on anarchy. >>> now look at this. the market, up again. evidently investors do not believe that widespread urban unrest will hurt the economic recovery. the dow looks towards a gain of well over 100 points, up 10 on the s&p, up 18 on the nasdaq. now, we have not forgotten the reopening of the economy. it's actually speeding up and we are going to cover it for you. "varney & company" is about to begin. stuart: there you have it. that is the president taking back the streets of washington, d.c. as he and his top aides, including his daughter ivanka, son-in-law jared kushner and attorney general bill barr, walked from the white house across lafayette park to the historic st. john's church. parts of it, burned by

st. john's church burns. not a good look. i'm sure a part of what he was saying when he called the governors we can saying those things is it's not a good look for him. right? if this is out of control, this is not a good look for a president who runs on law and order. on the other side if you crackdown too hard or seem insensitive to the now multiracial, multi-ethnical concerns, it doesn't look good either. >> bret: i want to bring in brit hume -- brit hume, just before the president comes out, your thoughts. i'm trying to describe the surreal nature and i want to add one element to it, reporters are there in the rose garden, social distancing with masks. the president is walking out now. i will get you on the other side after he makes his remarks. let's listen in. b3 thank you very much. my fellow americans, my first and highest duty as president is to defend the great country and the american people. i swore a note to uphold the laws of our nation, and that is exactly what i will do. all americans are rightly sickened and

nominal you also had others that were part of that st john's walk to the church one of them being the nation's highest ranking military officer also piggybacking off of esper statement saying that they had no idea that that was going to be hard about whole thing yeah. the state department came out with a statement just a couple of hours ago saying that today they're honoring the victims of tiananmen square it is the 31st anniversary of what's house up here so it's a little odd monella because with all of the protests going on here in america 31 years later the state department is releasing now this message we honor of the brave chinese people whose peaceful calls for democracy human rights and a corruption free society came to a violent end when the chinese communist party sent its army into tiananmen square armed with tanks and guns and the u.s. stands with the people of china who continue to aspire to a government that protects human rights fundamental freedoms and basic human dignity so again manila in the wake of america americans out there practicing democracy by freedom of assem

st. john's episcopal church. when i was not aware of was exactly where we were going when we arrived at the church, and what the plans were once begun there. meet witho my aim to and thank the members of the national guard, who were on duty that evening in the park. it is something the president likes to do as well. the path we took to and from the church did not afford us that opportunity, but i was able to spin a considerable amount of time with our guardsmen as i went around the city in many locations at which they were posted. i addressed -- i want to address a few other matters. first, national guard forces did not fire rubber bullets or teargas into the crowd as reported. second, guardsmen were instructed to wear helmets and personal protective equipment for their own protection, not to serve as some form of intimidation. third, military leaders, including the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff were wearing field uniforms because that is the appropriate uniform when working in the command center and meet

st. john's episcopal church in washington and held the bible up and use that photo opportunity to reconnect with his evangelical supporters. the following day he went to a shrine to saint john paul ii and in an effort to obviously once again reach out to religious voters and also reach catholics who support him in 2016. and so he's turning to a strategy that really focuses on making sure people who support him in 2016 will turn up again in 2020. it's no longer i campaign strategy that is primarily focused on growing his base to include suburban voters, to include a small percentage of minority voters, independence. it's really focused on those core trump supporters who have been with them since the first election that he ran in, and are the most likely to support him again in 2020. >> host: is the strategy to try to guarantee not only an electoral college victory but also a popular vote victory? or is the focus to reach the 270? >> guest: i i think it's to reach 270. the trump campaign has never said they're looking to get a popular vote victory this time around. their entire strategy leans

move those protesters away from that area again you saw those smoke bombs going off and save your st john's church across the street from the white house but that is this big issue now which is why chains miller resign now in this letter published in the washington post miller who was a department of defense advisor says that defense secretary marc esper one along with quote trumps orders to fire canisters into the crowd writing to esper president trumps actions monday night by a late of his oath to take care that the laws be faithfully executed you may not a good able to stop the president but you could have chosen to oppose it instead you visibly supported it and you know looking at this picture of the guy we're talking mark asper under fire it's the guy all the way here on the left so now we know who mark esper is but who is this james miller and has mark esper responded to that public. getting so actually james miller is actually really big and the d.o.j. and his resignation actually had mark esper out responding as soon as it was published now miller served on the defense science board

exactly exactly what his critics are calling it a religious photo op in front of the 200 year old st john's church where we are the day after it was set on fire protesters now before his photo op trump spoke in the rose garden condemning the rioting and looting that's in cities across the country that they've seen and threaten that he would actually deploy the u.s. military to major cities if it didn't stop with that here i am you know president of law and order and an ally of peaceful protesters. but in recent days our nation has been gripped by professional anarchies violent mobs are students looters criminals rioters. and. now overnight protesters took to the streets in washington with all things dying down around 2 or 3 in the morning stores and businesses they were broken into and you saw roughly the same amount of violence that was displayed sunday night but as each day goes on here in d.c. more and more businesses are beginning to board up their windows almost making it look like the city is getting ready for a hurricane now just moments ago the president 1st lady they were actually