>> The police are moving, they're trying to disperse this crowd that has gathered at Lafayette
Park. Clearly, they don't want these protesters to be there even though they were peaceful.
They were just screaming a little bit, but they were not endangering anyone. And all
of a sudden tear gas and these protesters now they're gonna presumably run away and
try to regroup elsewhere.
>> Peaceful protesters near the White House were met with vicious brutality following
Donald Trump's rose garden address. And it was also he can have a photo op in front of
a church. He didn't go inside the church. He didn't pray inside the church. He didn't
even open a bible that he held for a photo op.
But the religious community is outraged over what happened, especially since he was willing
to use tear gas and rubber bullets against peaceful protesters just so he can do this
photo op. So CNN reported that after using St. John's Church, the church of the presidents,
which had experienced the basement fire during Sunday's demonstrations.
Trump drew immediate criticism from faith leaders including Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde
of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington. She was quoted as saying, he did not pray, he
did not offer a word of balm or condolence to those who are grieving. He did not seek
to unify the country, but rather, he used our symbols and our sacred space as a way
to reinforce a message that is antithetical to everything that the person of Jesus, whom
we follow, and the Gospel text that we strive to emulate represent.
And she also criticized Trump during an interview with Anderson Cooper, let's watch.
>> The president just use a Bible in the sacred text of the Judeo Christian tradition in 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 in
riot gear to clear the church yard. I am outraged. The president did not pray when he came to
St. John's, nor as you just articulate that he acknowledged the agony of our country right
now.
And in particular that of the people of color in our nation who wonder if anyone ever, anyone
in public power will ever acknowledge their sacred worth. And who are rightfully demanding
an end to 400 years of systemic racism and white supremacy in our country. And I just
want the world to know that we in the Diocese of Washington, following Jesus and his way
of love, do not.
We distance ourselves from the incendiary language of this president. We follow someone
who lived a life of nonviolence and sacrificial love. We align ourselves with those seeking
justice for the death of George Floyd and countless others.
>> And when it comes to that crowd, which was met with the vicious behavior by police
and the National Guard, Jim Acosta found out that there were religious people in that crowd,
who unfortunately got caught up in the violent reaction.
So he tweets, just spoke to Reverend Gina Gerbasi of St. John's Episcopal Church in
Georgetown, who was at St. John's, across from the White House yesterday. She says she
and others were driven from the area by force. She was quoted as saying, it was completely
unprovoked. I didn't hear bullhorns saying the president is coming.
That's the kind of viciousness religious leaders were met with and peaceful protesters were
met with. Also Donald Trump can do a photo op to appeal to his dwindling religious base.
He's not pulling as well as he used to even among evangelicals.
>> Yeah, so first of all, that Reverend explained that they were giving out food and consoling
people at the church, at the patio of the church.
And now the Lord of the worlds are saying, hey, listen, you have to be more accurate.
It wasn't tear gas, it was just smoke canisters. And it also I think concussion grenades so
that sounds really great, sorry, stand corrected if that's the case. But we do know the Reverend
said that she had tears in her eyes and it affected them.
So there's contradictory evidence there, but either way you can see it with your own eyes.
There's at least the crowd being cleared out with some smoke or tear gas, etc. And the
reason for throwing that object that creates that smoke or gas is to clear the crowd. That's
the whole point of it, right?
So it obviously is meant to, at a bare minimum, greatly irritate the people that are there,
enough to drive them from the scene. And it worked in driving even the reverent from the
scene. She said the medics where black lives matter remain as she was so amazed by their
bravery and their courage.
But that the rest of them had to go because they couldn't take it anymore, based on how
uncomfortable the gas had made them. And so the image of a guy who drives out reverence
with this kinda tactics off of the church properties to go do a fake photo op in front
of the church is exactly who Trump is.
And it's instead amazing times that we're in. And, of course, there he is holding the
Bible upside down and the most awkward way imaginable as if it's a prop he was unfamiliar
with. He's like, like, what is this? Here, I am holding this thing here, okay? This apparently
is important to the people who vote for me.
>> Cenk, Cenk but look, to be fair, I mean, I feel like he would hold any book that way.
Like it's a foreign object for him, he just doesn't know. He's like, is this, I don't,
is this how you hold it? He's a mess, among his supporters who are religious, does anyone
actually buy that he respects your religion or cares about your faith?
He uses religion as a prop. Now, a lot of politicians do that. But Donald Trump is probably
the most, not probably, definitely the most egregious example, because of his lifestyle,
because of all the scandals he's been caught in the past. Because of his relationship with
disgusting people like Jeffrey Epstein.
I mean, Donald Trump, really you think he cares about your faith?
>> Yeah, and, again, Lorene I was probably right about this, about the rumors that he
might have brought one to three mistresses with him. Apparently that's not true. Those
were his previous mistresses. Yes, who were adult star, who he did cheat on his wife with
as she was having their baby.
But that's from the past, Ana, that's from the past. And now he's a new man. And he will
tell you, okay, this is the right book, okay? Justice is coming, okay, and preorder it,
justiceiscomingbook.com. Anyway seriously. One last thing. You know he's in trouble because
the rats are scurrying from the ship.
So early on in his term, Ben Sasse from Nebraska used to criticize him cuz he seemed genuinely
aghast and thought like, well, is these poll numbers can't last or this guy is an idiot,
a monster, etc. And we used to get around and call them Classy Ben Sassy.
But then for the great majority of his term, Ben Sasse ago his poll numbers did go down.
Okay dad, Donald Trump. I love Donald Trump all the time. And recently we switched his
name to Horses Ass Ben Sasse, and now, guess what happened? All of a sudden, Ben Sasse
is back to criticizing Donald Trump.
And in fact, he said that the word of God should not be used as a political prop, okay,
that is. I'm paraphrasing a longer thing he did on that. And he said it was a peaceful
protest and you shouldn't have used the Bible as a political prop, etc.
So Ben Sasse must have some new polling and that poll number showed Trump is in trouble.
So all of a sudden Ben Sasse is going, you know what, and that's a republican senator
from Nebraska. You know what? It turns out Donald Trump maybe not as religious as we
were all pretending he was.
Of course, of course, no one in their right mind believes that he was ever religious has
ever read the Bible or two Corinthians. I mean, he was ever wrong, you know him. You
know his never has never picked up the Bible. So now all of a sudden, ironically, Ben Sasse
finds religion right before elections because Trump's polling is bad.
>> I mean, look, birds of a feather. I think Ben Sasse is no different from Donald Trump,
right, pretending to care about religion, pretending to care about morality to help
his political career. How sad is it that bunker boy, you have to take bunker boys lead. How
your political views and commentary is formed is completely dependent on where bunker boy
is in the polls?
How sad is that? So well, Donald Trump is a coward and he's weak and he's pathetic,
and he just poses as some sort of strong man. In reality, he's not the worst, he's not the
weakest among them. The weakest are the republicans who just follow his lead. And just get embarrassed
and humiliated by the most pathetic president in US history on a daily basis.
That's what Ben Sasse is communicating to the world. I'm a giant loser who loves to
get cocked by Donald Trump. It's my favorite thing to do. You want that leading you? I
don't know, people in Nebraska need to consider, reconsider that.
>> Yeah, okay, but last thing, guys.
It confirmed now that he did this done because he was embarrassed that they were people started
calling him bunker boy. And then republicans and right wingers start celebrating, there
you go, bunker boy way to get out there with the people. And it shows that he's brave.
No, if he'd walk through the protesters who, remember, were peaceful, it it actually wouldn't
take much courage.
They're are peaceful protesters, that might have taken at least some degree of courage.
No, he had his Gestapo clear out the peaceful protesters with the canisters that they threw
and all of the things that they did, roughing up reporters, all that stuff. He had to do
all of that so that the coward could walk a block in Washington DC.
Ironically, he actually did prove his bunker boy. Thanks for watching The Young Turks,
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