House Speaker Nancy Pelosi held up a Bible and quoted scripture to chide President Trump one day after he held up a Bible for a photo opportunity at St. John’s Episcopal Church during the protests in Washington, D.C.
At the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday, Pelosi took a shot at the commander in chief as she joined other members of Congress in a ceremony recognizing the House bill to defend the human rights of Uighurs.
“Last night, when I saw the president hold up a Bible, I was thinking of so many things in the Bible that would have been appropriate in terms of the humanity of all people,” Pelosi said as she held up a Bible.
The California Democrat quoted the book of Ecclesiastes and said that this was a “time to heal,” she added, “It’s long overdue time for us to make some of that change that people were calling out for.”
Trump has been criticized by many who believe he had protesters forcibly removed by law enforcement from in front of the White House prior to the citywide curfew for a “photo op” at nearby St. John’s Episcopal Church, a historic church that suffered fire damage on Sunday. The White House later tweeted out a video showing Trump make the journey to the church without showing any of the protesters.
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) June 2, 2020
“We would hope that the president of the United States would follow the lead of so many other presidents before him to be a healer-in-chief and not a fanner of the flame,” Pelosi said.
“Yesterday, we saw a most unfortunate situation where before the curfew, the time of the curfew occurred, peaceful demonstrators, 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,” Pelosi said.
Protests have taken place throughout the country against police brutality and racial injustice since the death of George Floyd, a black man who died after a white Minneapolis police officer held him down by kneeling on his neck during an arrest. Some of the protests have turned violent and featured looting, arson, and vandalism.
