From the moment that protests against racist police violence started to spread from Minneapolis to the rest of the country (and the world), after a white police officer named Derek Chauvin killed an unarmed black man named George Floyd in a gruesome incident captured on video, it's been clear that Donald Trump thought this was exactly the Hail Mary he needed to win re-election. Trump has been desperate for a way to distract the country from the soaring death rate of the coronavirus pandemic (now at 108,000 and counting) and the 40 million left unemployed in the resulting economic collapse. He believed that a racist and sadistic backlash against the protesters was just the ticket.

White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany on Wednesday defended the use of force against protesters in order to clear way for President Donald Trump's photo op at St. John's Episcopal Church.

At her daily press briefing, McEnany was asked why it was necessary for Trump to walk to the church, where held up a Bible.

McEnany suggested that Trump's photo op had been a historic moment.

"This was a very important moment," she explained. "I would note that through all of time, we've seen presidents and leaders across the world who have had leadership moments and very powerful symbols that were important for a nation to see at any given time, to show a message of resilience and determination."