Top US general regrets joining Trump at church photo op during protests
The top US military officer says he made a mistake by joining President Donald Trump as he walked to a church for a photo opportunity, staged after the area was forcefully cleared of protesters marching against racism and police brutality.
"I should not have been there," Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Mark Milley said Thursday in a prerecorded video commencement address to the National Defense University in Washington.
"My presence in that moment and in that environment created a perception of the military involved in domestic politics,” he said.
"As a commissioned uniformed officer, it was a mistake that I have learned from, and I sincerely hope we all can learn from it," Milley said. His comments were first reported by the New York Times.
Milley and US Defense Secretary Mark Esper were both strongly criticised for participating in the controversial Jun 1 incident.
Milley's presence was particularly criticized as he was wearing his camouflage battle uniform. Normally military officials wear their formal dress uniform when holding meetings in the White House.
The photo opportunity was widely seen as a political show by Trump, who walked with officials from the White House to pose in front of St John's Episcopal Church, holding up a Bible.
The bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington sharply criticized Trump follwong his visit to the church. The Reverend Mariann Budde said in a statement that she was “outraged” by Trump’s visit and noted that the president didn’t pray while stopping by the church.
Law enforcement used tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse hundreds of peaceful protesters before Trump crossed the street to the church, drawing widespread condemnation.
Protests have been held across the US for several weeks in response to the killing of George Floyd, a black man who died after a white police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes in Minneapolis on May 25.
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