In an exclusive interview, Esper also said he had “no idea” about the plan to use force to disperse protesters ahead of Trump’s staged visit to St. John’s Church.
Defense Secretary Mark Esper says he had no advance notice before President Donald Trump led him and other senior administration officials to St. John’s Episcopal Church for a widely criticized photo-op.
Esper and Milley were among a group of White House officials and aides who followed Trump as he walked from the White House to the historic church after officers in riot gear cleared the area of peaceful protesters. Trump ended the speech by saying he was going to pay his respects"to a very, very special place,” but he didn’t elaborate.
Story continuesIn the Tuesday night interview, Esper said he had “no idea” about the plans to disperse the crowd. He added that he was eager to speak to members of the National Guard to thank them for their service.He noted that they had been called in to help in the COVID-19 response, prepare for hurricanes and then were asked to don riot gear days later.The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
The Rev. Mariann Budde, bishop of the Washington diocese, said Trump’s staged visit to St. John’s “was an abuse of the spiritual tools and symbols of our traditions and of our sacred space."
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