Top US general says he was wrong to take part in Trump's church photo op

• Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley admitted Thursday that he was wrong to participate in President Donald Trump's photo op at St. John's Church on June 1.
• "I should not have been there," Milley said in a keynote address at a National Defense University commencement ceremony.
• During the photo op, Trump, with Milley and others, walked across Lafayette Park to take photos at St. John's Church after law enforcement used aggressive tactics to forcefully clear protesters from the area.

The nation's top general said Thursday he was wrong for taking part in President Donald Trump's controversial church photo op last week.

"I should not have been there," Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley said in an address during a National Defense University commencement ceremony. "My presence in that moment and in that environment created a perception of the military involved in domestic politics."

"As senior leaders, everything you do will be closely watched," Milley said. "And I am not immune. As many of you saw, the result of the photograph of me at Lafayette Square last week, that sparked a national debate about the role of the military in civil society."

Further addressing his presence during the controversial photo op, he said that "as a commissioned uniformed officer, it was a mistake that I have learned from, and I sincerely hope we all can learn from it."

On Monday, June 1, the president walked across Lafayette Park to take photos at St. John's Church after law enforcement used aggressive tactics to forcefully clear protesters from the area. The president was accompanied by Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, Milley, and several other members of his administration.

Both Milley and Esper have taken criticism, including from former military leaders, for their part in that moment, which followed Esper's earlier characterization of American cities as "battlespaces" to be dominated and which saw Milley appear in a combat uniform.

In an address that caught the White House a little off guard, Esper said at the Pentagon last Wednesday that he "was not aware of a photo op was happening."

"I did everything I can to try to stay apolitical and to try — trying to stay out of situations that may appear political, and sometimes I'm successful with doing that, and sometimes I'm not as successful," he said. "But my aim is to keep the department out of politics, to stay apolitical, and that's what I continue to try and do, as well as my leaders here in the department."

While the secretary of defense has attempted to distance himself from the events of that day, stressing that he had not intended to be there and that he was unaware of the developments that unfolded in and around the park, Thursday's comments mark Milley's first public remarks on the matter.