President Donald Trump was rushed to an underground bunker at the White House on Friday night after protesters breached barricades, according to Washington Post reporter Carol Leonnig, citing arrest records and officials.
That report conflicts with Trump’s claim he wasn’t there for his security but was just “inspecting” the place, according to Leonnig.
Trump denied multiple news reports that he was moved into an underground bunker Friday at the White House as protests over George Floyd's death escalated outside.
“It was a false report. I wasn’t down there,” Trump told Fox News Radio host Brian Kilmeade on Wednesday.
Trump admitted being escorted to the bunker, but said it was earlier in the day and that he was there “for an inspection.”
“I went down during the day and I was there for a tiny, little short period of time and it was much more for an inspection, there was no problem during the day,” the president said.
Trump said the Secret Service never approached him about his safety as the situation outside turned more volatile, nor did agents ever express the need to move to the bunker, Trump said.
“Nope, they didn’t tell me that at all.”
The New York Times was the first to report that the first family was hurried downstairs and spent about an hour in the bunker, known as the Presidential Emergency Operations Center.
A senior administration official also confirmed to NBC News on Sunday that Trump had been in the bunker for a “very short period” out of an abundance of caution.
On Wednesday, Trump told Kilmeade: “They told me to go down and ‘take a look’ just to check it out. I can’t tell you who went with me but a whole group of people went with me, as an inspecting factor, I was back up, and Brian it was during the day, it wasn’t during the night.”
The president also said, “There was never a problem. We never had a problem. Nobody ever came close to giving us a problem.”
On Monday, Trump called the protests in front of the White House “a total disgrace” and threatened to send in the U.S. military to forcibly to put down uprisings.
The controversial photo op
Some talking heads in Washington said that after Friday’s heated protest, Trump may have wanted to project to his supporters an image of toughness and religious sentiment, which led to his controversial decision to walk from the White House to St. John’s Episcopal Church for a photo opportunity.
Moments before, National Guard troops and local police launched tear gas, rubber bullets and flash bangs to disperse peaceful protesters who had gathered across the street from the White House in Lafayette Park.
Explosions could be heard from the Rose Garden before Trump finished his address threatening to invoke the Insurrection Act of 1807, a federal law that allows the president to deploy military troops within the United States to suppress civil disorder, insurrection and rebellion, but only if states called on Trump to act. During the speech, Trump also declared himself “an ally of all peaceful protesters,” even as the wild scene erupted within earshot.
After the crowds were cleared, Trump emerged from the White House gates and walked a block to St. John’s Episcopal Church, which had been damaged in more fierce protests the previous night.
The president was escorted to the site by dozens of armed Secret Service agents.
In front of the historic church entrance, the president stood for photographs with a Bible raised in his right hand.
The White House later defended the moment, saying the president wanted to honor the establishment on the day after protesters set a small fire in the basement of the building, which is more than 200 years old.
Episcopal leaders later expressed outrage over Trump's visit, saying he used "one of our churches as a prop."
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