On October 22, twelve American bishops met with Trump administration officials at the White House for a private discussion on immigration policy, and at the end of the visit they prayed over the president in the Oval Office. A video of the prayer was posted, and the bishops received backlash for ostensibly supporting the president by praying for him. Archbishop Jeffrey Grob of Milwaukee has since issued a formal apology, and at least one other bishop has expressed regret.
Archbishop Grob’s apology is a mistake. The apology centred around feeling duped into a photo with the president. He agreed with his critics that being viewed publicly praying for the president could be seen as a blanket endorsement of President Trump and apologised for “the hurt he caused”.
