A senior White House official told Axios his thoughts on the administration’s decision to arrange for Trump to publicly appear in the protest-affected area near the White House.
However, in order to arrange such an event, it was necessary to rally the protesters from the street. According to an official who spoke on condition of anonymity, when he saw footage of a crowd being dispersed from Lafayette Square with tear gas, he was disgusted:
“I have never been so ashamed. I was deeply disgusted. Everything inside me turned upside down. And they all celebrate it. They are very, very proud of themselves”.