THE BIBLE DIDN'T BLEED, SO IT DIDN'T LEAD -- EVEN ON THE RIGHT

I went to the news aggregator Memeorandum and saw this headline from Gateway Pundit, the most sycophantic of pro-Trump sites:

LIKE A BOSS: Trump Walks to St John's Church Torched by Protesters Last Night, Holds Up Bible

Then I went to Gateway Pundit. Yes, that post is there -- but it's buried under posts with titles such as:

Shootout In Vegas: U.S. Marshal Shot Near Courthouse, LV Officer Shot Near Circus Circus Casino

“Complete Anarchy”: New York Cops Beaten, Run Over by Cars in Night of Rioting and Arson by Peaceful Protesters (Video)

Peaceful Protesters Loot, Torch St. Louis 7-11 Then Lay Down in Street to Block Firetrucks

Four St. Louis Cops Shot in Raging Gun Battle With Peaceful Protesters

Gov. Cuomo Goes on CNN, Trashes Trump for Calling Out Military to Crush Leftist Mobs and Looters — As Looters Wipe Out Fifth Avenue in NY City! (VIDEO)

It's the right-wing media, so the emphasis is on violence against the cops -- nothing here about police violence directed against peaceful demonstrators, of course. But the lead stories are all about mayhem, not Trump triumphant.

At Breitbart, the Bible stunt is similarly buried at the bottom of the front-page headline:

AMERICA BURNS AGAIN

NYC ANARCHY... MACY’S FLAGSHIP LOOTED

CURFEWS IGNORED

RIOTERS CHEER DESTRUCTION

WOKE: CORPORATIONS VIRTUE-SIGNAL ON RACE

TRUMP RAISES BIBLE AT ST. JOHN’S CHURCH

And at FoxNews.com:



In the Fox headlines under that photo of Trump holding the Bible, he and his allies are on the defensive:

Rubio backs Trump after church photo uproar, protesters wanted ‘police action’

Backlash grows over use of tear gas against protesters prior to Trump's walk to DC church

I know what Trump was imagining when he planned yesterday's events: He'd order the deployment of federal troops, they'd clear his way to the church, then they'd fan out across the country and end the unrest overnight.

I'm certain that this is literally what Trump envisioned. I'm sure he still thinks it could happen if everyone would stop worrying about the law and the Constitution and all that nonsense, and just do things his way.

(Axios's Jonathan Swan, describing yesterday's discussions at the White House, writes, "Trump wanted to federalize forces across the nation — a decision that has been held off for the moment. But he also wanted a massive display of force in Washington.")

I'm certain that Trump believed he'd change the course of the unrest overnight. I'm sure he thought he'd wake up this morning being talked about in the same breath as MacArthur and Patton (the only two generals he's ever heard of, apart from the ones he's met or seen on TV), because I'm sure he regards this as the equivalent of an overseas war.

I don't know what Trump will do now that he hasn't had instant success, and now that he realizes that his great photo op isn't even being portrayed as the day's triumphal Hollywood moment of heroism, even by some friendly news outlets.

He mighht become more brutal -- or he might just wash his hands of the whole problem, the way he did with the coronavirus. We'll see.