This is an On the Media podcast Extra.

I'm Bob Garfield.

On Monday, peaceful protesters were met with tear gas outside the White House.

Using flashbangs in front of them and mounted police to clear what has been an entirely peaceful protest.

Not 98%, not 99%, but 100% peaceful protests here today.

The reason? The president wanted to have his photo taken in front of a church. He brandished a Bible in the air, mostly in silence, as the photographer's obliged. The church in question was St. John's

Episcopal. Every sitting president has attended services there at least once since its founding in 1816,

and on Sunday, someone tried to set its basement on fire. What better gimmick then for a demagogue claiming to

defend the real American values than a historic symbol of Christianity under siege?

Among those outraged was Bishop Marianne Edgar Buddy of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington.

This was a charade that in some ways was meant to bolster a message that does nothing to calm the soul and to reassure the nation that we can recover from this moment, which is what we need from a president.

This charade was only the latest for Donald, patron saint of red meat.

On Friday, May 22nd, at very nearly the crest of the coronavirus pandemic,

he demanded that houses of worship be opened on the grounds of religious liberty.

I call upon governors to allow our churches and places of worship to open right now.

Never mind the fact that they are hotbeds for COVID-19, since they bring congregants together

cheek by jowl in enclosed spaces, often for hours. But when Sunday the 24th came, Trump was forced

to forsake his right to worship due to pressing matters of state. After calling on churches to

reopen this weekend, President Trump opted to head out for another round of golf. For a self-identified

Christian, as Ruth Graham notes in Slate,

he has had some difficulty staying on message. Have you ever asked God for forgiveness?

That's a tough question. I don't think in terms of, I'm a religious person. I'm wondering what

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