After tear gas was fired at clergy to create the Proverb-ial photo with a Bible, Trump critics are doing Numbers on his hamfisted attempt to create the illusion of Christianity.

We have known ever since the 2018 funeral of George H.W. Bush that Donald Trump does not know a single Christian prayer, and cannot recite one even if the words are right in front of him. Yet this Christian con job has endured throughout his presidency, notably during Monday’s tear-gassing of clergy and protesters so he could hold a Bible (upside-down) in front of St. John’s Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C. Many prominent Bay Area and national figures have lent psalms and lamentations of the crude photo-op.

Friends, I am ok, but I am, frankly shaken. I was at St. John's, Lafayette Square most of the afternoon, with fellow...

Posted by Gini Gerbasi on Monday, June 1, 2020

But first, to the confirmation that clergy members were indeed tear-gassed to create this public relations stunt. “We were literally DRIVEN OFF of the St. John's, Lafayette Square patio with tear gas and concussion grenades and police in full riot gear,” St. John's rector Gini Gerbasi said in the above Facebook post. “WE WERE DRIVEN OFF OF THE PATIO AT ST. JOHN'S - a place of peace and respite and medical care throughout the day - SO THAT MAN COULD HAVE A PHOTO OPPORTUNITY IN FRONT OF THE CHURCH!!! PEOPLE WERE HURT SO THAT HE COULD POSE IN FRONT OF THE CHURCH WITH A BIBLE!”

Our representative and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who’s been known to jab at Trump in terms of practicing faith, got into her own Bible-swinging contest with Trump and actually quoted the scripture in a Tuesday press appearance seen above. She quoted the Book of Ecclesiastes, in a bit you better know as the lyrics to the Byrds’ “Turn! Turn! Turn!.” “Yesterday we saw a most unfortunate situation where before the curfew, the time the curfew occurred, peaceful demonstrators and protesters in front of the White House were beaten, some people came out and beat them, so they could clear the area, so the president could come out and go forward. What is that? That has no place, and it’s time for us to do away with that. A time to heal, the Book of Ecclesiastes.”  

Warriors coach Steve Kerr also threw the book at Trump, as did comic Nick Offerman.

Today we received news from the New York Times that attorney general William Barr himself ordered the beating and tear gas. “When Mr. Barr found on Monday afternoon that [the clearing of protesters] had not been done yet, he ordered officers on the scene to complete the expansion of the perimeter, but there was not enough time to do it before Mr. Trump made a speech in the Rose Garden, declaring himself a friend to peaceful protest,” the Times reports. “When Mr. Trump and aides then set out for the church, the protesters in the park were dispersed using gas and other forceful measures.”

Let’s be honest. We all know that the Bible photo-op was a petty, defensive response to reports that Trump was hiding in an underground bunker during Friday night’s unrest, and he needed some sort of public display of fearlessness and ability to restore normalcy. So the White House put out the propaganda video above, but take a look at the video’s final shot, and see for yourself how much the snipers on the White House roof convey fearlessness and normalcy.

@WhiteHouse

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Screenshot: @WhiteHouse