# Trump's religious pandering **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [June 1, 2020, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-religious-pandering/854885 "2020-06-01T23:55:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2020, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-religious-pandering/854885/41 "2020-06-02T19:00:26Z")
Wonder if the church can send the Trump campaign a cease-and-desist order against using pix of Trump in front of their church in any campaign materials. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2020, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-religious-pandering/854885/42 "2020-06-02T19:01:35Z")
Christians, like many people, are often motivated more by a sense of outward appearance than actual substance. It reminds me of what my college professor told the class way back in the day: Most people don’t really care about actual subtle policy changes as long as things appear good on the outside. But the moment you mess with the external rituals or visible stuff, you’re in trouble as a leader. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2020, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-religious-pandering/854885/43 "2020-06-02T19:13:45Z")
He probably reads Mein Kampf more than the Bible. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2020, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-religious-pandering/854885/44 "2020-06-02T19:28:03Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > He probably reads Mein Kampf more than the Bible. Is there a [Classics Illustrated](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classics_Illustrated) version? ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2020, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-religious-pandering/854885/45 "2020-06-02T19:44:47Z")
The fact that Melania brought the Bible from the White House in [a designer handbag](https://twitter.com/rebeccaballhaus/status/1267899055025381380) is a bit on the nose. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2020, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-religious-pandering/854885/46 "2020-06-03T00:10:33Z")
Saw this posted elsewhere but worth sharing: _Trump hold a bible like a nun holds a dick._ ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2020, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-religious-pandering/854885/47 "2020-06-03T00:23:52Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > Wonder if the church can send the Trump campaign a cease-and-desist order against using pix of Trump in front of their church in any campaign materials. No. It’s a public building on a public street. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2020, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-religious-pandering/854885/48 "2020-06-03T00:31:14Z")
> [@D\_Anconia](#): > > No. It’s a public building on a public street. It’s not a public building. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2020, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-religious-pandering/854885/49 "2020-06-03T00:31:52Z")
> [@D\_Anconia](#): > > No. It’s a public building on a public street. [Wrong.](https://www.brotherhoodmutual.com/legalassist/legal-q-a/safety-and-security/q-are-ministries-allowed-to-remove-disruptive-people/) > [@](#): > > Q: Are ministries allowed to remove disruptive people? > A: Churches are private property owners, so they can restrict access to their property. > > Case law supports the notion that churches are not required to allow anyone to enter or remain on their property simply because their ministries are open to the public. When a ministry has reason to believe that a person will disrupt its service or activity, the ministry may either deny access or require the person to leave. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2020, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-religious-pandering/854885/50 "2020-06-03T00:35:02Z")
> [@D\_Anconia](#): > > No. It’s a public building on a public street. “Open to the public” does not necessarily mean “public building.” Although it’s on the National Register of Historic Places, and is a National Historic Landmark, as far as I can tell, St. John’s does not belong to the government (either the Federal government, or the District of Columbia). Unless you have evidence to the contrary, I would suspect that it’s the property of the Episcopal Church. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2020, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-religious-pandering/854885/51 "2020-06-03T00:44:09Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > Saw this posted elsewhere but worth sharing: > > _Trump hold a bible like a nun holds a dick._ 😃 ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2020, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-religious-pandering/854885/52 "2020-06-03T01:07:19Z")
Wrong. RT was talking about pictures of the outside of the building. That can’t be banned. It’s in public. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2020, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-religious-pandering/854885/53 "2020-06-03T01:15:26Z")
> [@D\_Anconia](#): > > Wrong. RT was talking about pictures of the outside of the building. That can’t be banned. It’s in public. The entourage was using the church as a backdrop implying endorsement. This was after police chased church personnel off the property. They denied the use of that property without recourse or payment. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2020, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-religious-pandering/854885/54 "2020-06-03T01:23:31Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > The entourage was using the church as a backdrop implying endorsement. This was after police chased church personnel off the property. They denied the use of that property without recourse or payment. Of course, anyone can file a suit about anything, but it wouldn’t get very far. Google has a picture of your house posted online. Can you successfully sue them? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2020, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-religious-pandering/854885/55 "2020-06-03T01:40:33Z")
> [@D\_Anconia](#): > > Of course, anyone can file a suit about anything, but it wouldn’t get very far. Google has a picture of your house posted online. Can you successfully sue them? Actually, they don’t. Google will blank a house if asked. However, just because a house is pictured online does not allow someone to profit from that picture. however, Trump’s thugs forcibly invaded the church and drove the occupants out. [Business Insider.](https://www.businessinsider.com/priests-say-they-were-expelled-from-st-johns-church-for-trump-photo-op-2020-6) > [@](#): > > The police in their riot gear were literally walking onto the St. John’s, Lafayette Square patio with these metal shields, pushing people off the patio and driving them back. People were running at us as the police advanced toward us from the other side of the patio," Gabresi wrote, adding that she and the medical volunteers grabbed as many supplies as they could while coughing from the gas and trying to get out of the area. > > “We were literally DRIVEN OFF of the St. John’s, Lafayette Square patio with tear gas and concussion grenades and police in full riot gear,” she added, describing being pushed back “with SO MANY concussion grenades - back to K street.” > > “I am shaken, not so much by the taste of tear gas and the bit of a cough I still have, but by the fact that that show of force was for a PHOTO OPPORTUNITY,” Gabresi wrote ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2020, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-religious-pandering/854885/56 "2020-06-03T02:00:04Z")
> [@D\_Anconia](#): > > Wrong. RT was talking about pictures of the outside of the building. That can’t be banned. It’s in public. In your earlier post, you said: > [@D\_Anconia](#): > > No. It’s a public building on a public street. The exterior of the building is visible to the public (and undoubtedly appears in thousands of photographs). But, do you understand that that doesn’t make it a “public building,” any more than Google Street View taking a picture of your house makes your house a public building? ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2020, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-religious-pandering/854885/57 "2020-06-03T02:18:11Z")
Reports say the church photo op idea came from Ivanka. Maybe she would have preferred a synagogue. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2020, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-religious-pandering/854885/58 "2020-06-03T02:31:45Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > The exterior of the building is visible to the public (and undoubtedly appears in thousands of photographs). But do you understand that such photographs are perfectly legal to use? The imaginary lawsuit has no basis in fact. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2020, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-religious-pandering/854885/59 "2020-06-03T02:46:16Z")
> [@D\_Anconia](#): > > But do you understand that such photographs are perfectly legal to use? The imaginary lawsuit has no basis in fact. I don’t see any reason why it would be illegal (and I never said otherwise), especially since it looks like Trump stayed on the sidewalk in front of the church. Crass, grandstanding, and inconsiderate (not to mention what was done to the protesters to clear the path), but the photo op, in and of itself, was probably legal. (Whether it could be grounds for a successful civil suit is another issue, but I don’t think the church would have grounds for a good case, anyway.) Why you got several corrections from myself and others was your statement, “it’s a public building,” which it very likely is not. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2020, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-religious-pandering/854885/60 "2020-06-03T02:55:22Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > I don’t see any reason why it would be illegal (and I never said otherwise), especially since it looks like Trump stayed on the sidewalk in front of the church. > > Crass, grandstanding, and inconsiderate (not to mention what was done to the protesters to clear the path), but the photo op, in and of itself, was probably legal. (Whether it could be grounds for a successful civil suit is another issue, but I don’t think the church would have grounds for a good case, anyway.) > > Why you got several corrections from myself and others was your statement, “it’s a public building,” which it very likely is not. You’re not in any position to “correct” me. That being said, RT seems to think that a cease and desist order could be possible. It’s not. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-religious-pandering/854885.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-religious-pandering/854885.md?page=4)