[283][285] Trump said on June 3 that the protesters were cleared because "they tried to burn down the church [on May 31] and almost succeeded", describing the church as "badly hurt".[286]
Religious leaders condemned the treatment of protesters and the photo opportunity itself.[287] Many retired military leaders and defense officials condemned Trump's proposal to use the U.S. military against anti-police brutality protesters.[288] The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark A. Milley, later apologized for accompanying Trump on the walk and thereby "creat[ing] the perception of the military involved in domestic politics".[289]

Immigration
Main article: Immigration policy of Donald Trump
Trump's proposed immigration policies were a topic of bitter and contentious debate during the campaign. He promised to build a wall on the Mexico–United States border to restrict illegal movement and vowed Mexico would pay for it.[290] He pledged to deport millions of illegal immigrants residing in the United States,[291] and criticized birthright citizenship for incentivizing "anchor babies".[292] As president, he frequently described illegal immigration as an "invasion" and conflated immigrants with the criminal gang MS-13,[293] though available research shows undocumented immigrants have a lower crime rate than native-born Americans.