black lives matter protesters from lafayette square park so he could get a photo op in front of historic st. john s church. you might remember this. when they dispersed protesters in lafayette park the other day when the president wanted his follow-up. white house also donald trump could stage a follow-up. the president literally wanted a photo up after all of this had been sprayed on american citizens. protesters were cleared from the park, remember president trump could walk across the street to st. john s church for a photo op. speak of the united states government does not use the military against civilians in this country unless there is a damn good reason at all we endep with was the president of the united states looking like a wannabe dictator so he could walk over to a church and
yeah. let s be honest. i mean, that was a layup. that was an easy question. that was, clearly, a question that the vice president was going to get. perplexing. the answer is perplexing. and those sources say the white house is worried that, what looked like a swing and a miss will overshadow what they hoped would be a successful trip. here s the question, though. yes, that is, obviously, a question that she should have been prepared for. like, when i was in california, i went to the border. when i was a senator, i went to the border. now, i m focused on getting the job done, and what i can do here, in washington. easy. easy. there s a vice president being held to the standard of the office? or a different standard? we are going to discuss that tonight. that, as a newly-released watch-dog report says that park police did not clear protestors from the lafayette park last june so that the then-president could march to st. john s church for a photo op.
he has the sole authority to invoke the insurrection act, and if necessary, he will do so to protect american citizens. reporter: this morning, the pentagon had ordered 200 troops in the d.c. area to go home. but after the meeting this afternoon, an abrupt reversal. the pentagon said the troops will remain in place. esper was part of the team that walked with the president from the white house to st. john s church for a photo op about 30 minutes after law enforcement forcibly removed hundreds of peaceful protesters to clear the way. the white house says that was done on orders from attorney general barr. secretary esper insists he knew nothing about it. i was not aware of law enforcement s plans for the park. i was not briefed on them. reporter: today, the president claimed he didn t know about the plan to force out the peaceful protesters, either. i didn t say, oh, move them out. i didn t know who was there. i figured i was going to walk
over to the church very nearby. let s get to jon karl, near st. john s church. we see the demonstrators behind you. when protests flared up at the white house friday, we ve learned that president trump was rushed to a secure bunker under the white house. there had been reports that happened, now we know the reason why. the president was asked about whether he was sent to the bunker, and he claimed he was just inspecting the bunker? reporter: in an interview, the president acknowledged he was taken to the bunker, but he said he went there to inspect it. i ve been told by multiple sources that the president went there because of a heightened security alert. he was rushed there by the secret service. he didn t go there to inspect it. jon, thank you. and another developing headline on this. scathing words from james mattis about president trump as commander in chief, describing him as a threat to the constitution. and this comes as other military