Trump, distracted at Lafayette Square, briefly clashes with riot police

In a spectacular episode, US President Donald Trump briefly clashed with riot police at Lafayette Square in Washington, DC, for no apparent reason as he was on his way to a church for a photo op, sources have revealed.

According to The New York Times, Trump was planning to look tough after a week of protests over the murder of African-American George Floyd in police custody that had reached the White House’s front yard and had sent him to a bunker over security concerns.

The Times said Trump was planning to deploy the army to quell the protests, but his daughter, Ivanka, offered that he instead walk to a nearby church damaged during the protests in an attempt to look solid.

Military police and other forces then unleashed an aggressive assault to clear the way for the US president. That led to “a burst of violence unlike any seen in the shadow of the White House in generations,” according to the Times.

But, according to a previously unreported account, Trump was overwhelmed by the excitement of the moment as armed officers rampaged through lines of protesters and forcefully pushed them back several hundred meters away.

In an episode that lasted “just moments,” one source said on the condition of anonymity, the US president abruptly bent over, picked up a pole left from earlier clashes at the side of the street, and charged toward several riot police officers, screaming.

“The president of the United States has many things on his mind at any point in time,” an administration official explained. “At Lafayette Square, in the heat of the moment, the president seemed momentarily to want to assert his First Amendment rights, even though he couldn’t presently point to a reason why.”

Another source explained that Trump “politely” apologized to the officers and calmly resumed his walk when he was told they were confronting a “Black Lives Matter” protest.