Donald Trump’s St. John’s Church photo op was Ivanka Trump’s idea, says White House official

President Donald Trump has been criticized for forcefully dispersing peaceful protesters from Lafayette Square so he could go to St. John’s Church on Monday. But a new report claims that the idea of staging a photoshoot actually came from his senior adviser from Ivanka Trump.

Mark Meadows, White House Chief of Staff, reportedly said during a senior staff meeting on Tuesday that Ivanka Trump “deserved the credit for that decision,” according to Insider. This was revealed by New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman who cited two unnamed White House officials as her sources.

“Meadows said that while others were getting credit for the church appearance, it was Ivanka Trump who deserved the credit, per two officials,” Maggie Haberman posted on Twitter.

The reporter also said that Ivanka even thanked Meadows and his team for implementing her idea. “She thanked him and thanked the team for carrying it out, the officials said,” Haberman added.

To carry out the plan, law enforcement officers used tear gas and rubber bullets to remove peaceful protesters from the square on Monday. Donald Trump then walked to St. John’s Church where he declared himself as “your president of law and order” and “an ally of all peaceful protesters,” according to The New York Times. He was also photographed carrying a bible that was provided by his daughter and senior adviser Ivanka Trump.

The use of force against non-violent protesters has been criticized by many. “I don’t think the military should be used in the streets of American cities against Americans,” Mayor Muriel E. Bowser of Washington said. “And I definitely don’t think it should be done for a show.”

“When peaceful protesters are dispersed by the order of the president from the doorstep of the people's house, the White House — using tear gas and flash grenades — in order to stage a photo op at a noble church, we can be forgiven for believing that the president is more interested in power than in principle,” Joe Biden also said in his Philadelphia speech.