“I am … an ally of all peaceful protesters.”
— President Trump, in remarks at the Rose Garden, June 1
These remarks from the president came just as authorities were using rubber bullets and chemical gas to clear peaceful protesters outside the White House.
On Twitter the next morning, Trump boasted: “D.C. had no problems last night. Many arrests. Great job done by all. Overwhelming force. Domination.”
And before all that, he was on the phone lecturing the nation’s governors and calling for 10-year prison sentences. “If you don’t dominate, you’re wasting your time,” Trump said of the protests sparked by police violence against African Americans, according to leaked audio of the call. “They’re going to run all over you. You’ll look like a bunch of jerks. You have to dominate, and you have to arrest people, and you have to try people, and they have to go to jail for long periods of time.” Continue reading.