Declaring himself "your president of law and order," President Donald Trump vowed Monday to return order to American streets using the military if widespread violence isn't quelled, whilst peaceful protesters just outside the White House gates were dispersed with tear gas, flash grenades and rubber bullets. it had been all, apparently, so Trump could visit a close-by church.
The episode, which amounted to at least one of the foremost
highly charged and discordant moments in recent presidential history, came as
nationwide unrest escalates and as Trump comes struggling to demonstrate a
modicum of conciliation for a rustic torn along racial, ideological and
political lines.
He didn't offer that on Monday, choosing instead to
retrench. He called violent protests "domestic acts of terror" which
enforcement would "dominate the streets" to quell.
"If a city and state refuses to require the actions
necessary to defend the life and property of their Residents, then i will be
able to deploy the United State military and quickly solve the matter for
them," President Donald Trump said.
With the constant sound of helicopter blades overhead and a
gentle succession of bangs from nearby Lafayette Park, Trump declared himself
an "ally of all peaceful protesters."But as he was speaking, peaceful protesters were being urgently
dispersed outside the White House gates by police using rubber bullets, tear
gas and flash bangs. Several protesters were seen pouring water into their eyes
to ease the gas's sting.
Later, Trump walked across the park to St. John's EpiscopalChurch, a house of worship employed by American presidents for quite a century
that was partially burned during a Sunday evening protest.
"We have the best country within the world," Trump
said ahead of the church, holding a Bible and surrounded by aides, including national
security adviser Robert O'Brien, Attorney General Bill Barr, senior adviser and
son-in-law Jared Kushner, chief of staff Mark Meadows, Defense Secretary MarkEsper and press secretary Kayleigh McEnany.
He remained at the boarded-up building for a matter of
minutes before returning inside the White House.Before Trump's address, a crowd was gathering outside the
White House gates before a 7 p.m. ET curfew mandated by the mayor of
Washington, including near the church.
A large convoy of military vehicles was seen driving through
the White House complex and onto Pennsylvania Avenue before Trump emerged to
talk .
Trump said from the garden he was committed to upholding
laws and mobilizing military resources to finish nationwide looting.
" President Donald Trump said, My first and highestduty as president is to defend our great country and therefore the American
people,I swore an oath to uphold the laws of our United state nation which is
strictly what i will be able to do."
In striking terms, Trump said he would use his entire
presidential prerogative -- including threatening to invoke a rarely used law
dating back to 1807 -- to make sure violent protests end, declaring he would
deploy "thousands and thousands of heavily armed soldiers, military
personnel and enforcement officers" to bring order.
Trump said justice would be served for George Floyd, the
unarmed Black man who died after a white policeman knelt on his neck as he was
being arrested. He said he, along side many other Americans, was "rightly
sickened and revolted" by video showing the incident.
Ahead of his appearance on Monday evening, a debate had
raged among Trump's advisers over how and whether he should address protests
that have spread to dozens of cities.
And Trump himself was angered by coverage depicting him
holed up in an underground bunker. He told aides on Monday he wanted to be seen
outside the White House gates, consistent with an individual conversant in the
matter, which is a component of what drove the choice to stage the photo-op at
St. John's Church.
Trump and his family were rushed to an underground bunker on
the White House complex as protests raged outside the building on Friday
evening. Trump wasn't seen on Sunday and spent most of Monday behind closed
doors -- resulting in concern even from his allies that he was absent at a
flash of national crisis.
Many of the President's traditional defenders -- from
campaign donors to Republicans on Capitol Hill to some within the conservative
media -- privately grumbled that Trump allowed several days to pass without
addressing the state or making any formal appeals for unity.
Some outside allies reached bent the White House in recent
days to push for an appearance from the President during which he would
confront a crisis he has largely watched unfold from behind closed doors or in
his underground bunker.
One major campaign donor worried the damage inflicted by
Trump's absence during a historic weekend of violence and pain could alone
imperil his reelection.
A growing number of congressional Republicans, even Trump's
allies, also privately said the "caps lock" tweets about tamping down
protests using harsh tactics weren't helping things . Republican Sen. Tim Scott
of South Carolina said on "Fox News Sunday" that he had spoken to
Trump over the weekend about his inflammatory tweets, which he described as
"not constructive."
Over the weekend, some aides sought to convince President Trump
to not use violent rhetoric after he wrote on Twitter that "when the
looting starts the shooting starts," warning language like that would
inflame an already combustible situation and wouldn't appear presidential.
A senior White House aide said governors and mayors should
be those responding to the destruction in their respective cities and states --
a view a minimum of partially shared by Trump, who has spent days going after
local leaders for not calling the National Guard fast enough or cracking down
on violence aggressively enough.
In a heated call with governors on Monday morning, Trump
placed responsibility on the governors for resolving the national crisis and
said a number of them appeared "weak" in their responses thus far.
Other White House officials argued over the weekend against
something as formal as an Oval Office address, an individual familiar said, out
of concern that such a speech could "inflame things,not make it
better."
Some advisers wonder whether a presidential address calling
for calm would be quickly erased by Donald Trump's own penchant for escalation
and instigation.
Donald Trump Says He Will Deploy Military to Us if They Don’t Stop Violent Strike
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June 01, 2020
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