President Trump reacted with shock and anger to the third night of protests in Minneapolis and St. Paul over the death of George Floyd.
Just before 1 a.m. EST Friday, after the Minneapolis Police Department’s 3rd Precinct was set on fire, Trump shot off multiple tweets that decried a “lack of leadership” from Minneapolis officials and compared the protesters to “thugs.”
“I can’t stand back & watch this happen to a great American City, Minneapolis. A total lack of leadership. Either the very weak Radical Left Mayor, Jacob Frey, get his act together and bring the City under control, or I will send in the National Guard & get the job done right,” Trump said in one tweet.
“These THUGS are dishonoring the memory of George Floyd, and I won’t let that happen,” he said in another tweet. “Just spoke to Governor Tim Walz and told him that the Military is with him all the way. Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts. Thank you!”
….These THUGS are dishonoring the memory of George Floyd, and I won’t let that happen. Just spoke to Governor Tim Walz and told him that the Military is with him all the way. Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts. Thank you!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 29, 2020
Twitter later said the second tweet, which lifts a quote from controversial Miami Police Chief Walter Headley in the 1960s, violated its rules on violence but left the tweet up in the public interest.
Frey reacted with umbrage when asked during an early morning press conference to react to Trump’s tweets.
“Weakness is refusing to take responsibility for your own actions. Weakness is pointing your finger at somebody else at a time of crisis. Donald Trump knows nothing about the strength of Minneapolis,” the mayor told reporters.
Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, died after being handcuffed and pinned to the ground by a white officer’s knee as Floyd repeatedly said he could not breathe. Video of the incident, taken by a bystander, led to community outrage.
Protests, looting, and clashes with police have taken place in Minneapolis over the past three days since Floyd’s death on Monday, and the demonstrations have spread to other cities across the United States.
As thousands of people took to the streets of Minneapolis Thursday night, demonstrations also sprang up in places such as Columbus, Ohio, and Denver.
At a protest in downtown Louisville, Kentucky, over the police shooting death of Breonna Taylor, authorities said seven people were shot, including one person in critical condition.
The four officers who arrested Floyd, who had been responding to a call from a grocery store that claimed Floyd had tried to use a counterfeit $20 bill, have been fired by the department, and Floyd’s family and others have called for them to be charged with murder.
A Minneapolis bar owner claimed both Floyd and Derek Chauvin, the officer who subdued Floyd with his knee, worked as security guards for her business. It remains unclear if they knew each other.
Documents from the Minneapolis Police Department released Thursday revealed that Chauvin, who was videotaped kneeling on Floyd’s neck for more than five minutes as onlookers begged him to stop, was internally reviewed 17 times for complaints lodged against him during his 19 years serving as an officer.
The Justice Department and FBI announced Thursday they are conducting a “robust criminal investigation” into Floyd’s death.
More than 500 members of the Minnesota National Guard were deployed to St. Paul, Minneapolis, and surrounding communities Thursday evening after Gov. Tim Walz activated them to protect residents and maintain peace.
