President Trump, with Attorney General Barr beside him, had tough words for governors this morning in a call addressing the nationwide riots:
ABC NEWS – In a call with the nation’s governors Monday, an angry President Donald Trump told state leaders they must “dominate” out of control protests, calling on law enforcement to get “much tougher” and blaming unrest erupting across many communities squarely on “the radical left.”
The president and Attorney General William Barr used the word “dominate” nearly a dozen times in describing how law enforcement should posture themselves.
“You have to dominate, if you don’t dominate you’re wasting your time,” Trump said, according to a recording of the call obtained by ABC News. “They’re gonna run over you, you’re gonna look like a bunch of jerks. You have to dominate.”
“You have to know what you’re dealing with,” the president told the nation’s governors. “And it’s happened before, this happened numerous times and the only time it’s successful is when you’re weak and most of you are weak.”
Trump said they were making a mistake by letting looters destroy property and called for arresting and prosecuting those captured on camera, saying they should be put in jail for 10 years.
The president also said governors were slow to call on the National Guard.
“Why you’re not calling them up I don’t know — but you making a mistake and making yourselves look like fools.”
“These are terrorists,” President Trump said of the protesters. “Antifa and the radical left.”
In the last paragraph ABC News writes “In his opening remarks he made no mention of George Floyd…”, as if to paint Trump in an uncaring way over the death of Floyd. Which is ridiculous because Trump has made clear just how horrible he feels the death of Floyd was last week.
In the early reporting on the call, Robert Costa from the Washington Post tweeted this about the call:
I'm in touch with someone who's on the governors' call with President Trump right now. They and others listening in are alarmed. The president is urging governors to take back the streets, not be "weak," and use force as the nation faces growing racial unrest.
— Robert Costa (@costareports) June 1, 2020
They are alarmed? Over what exactly? Trump is saying what needs to be said to governors in the face of all the riots and mayhem that have overwhelmed cities this weekend.
Costa continues…
More: President Trump just berated governors and mayors for how they are handling the protests, calling them "fools," per person on the call.
— Robert Costa (@costareports) June 1, 2020
Aides to governors say the president continues to talk. One describes it as a "rant." Says he keeps talking about the need to "dominate" the protests.
— Robert Costa (@costareports) June 1, 2020
President Trump just compared this current national crisis to a "war" on the call with governors, per a person on it. And he urged the governors to "fight back." Monday, just before noon eastern.
— Robert Costa (@costareports) June 1, 2020
Trump may be using harsher language than these governors are used to hearing, but look at what’s happening to our cities! People are being attacked mercilessly by mobs, fires are raging, businesses are being looted and all of this on a massive scale. Trump is right to hammer these governors for allowing this to continue happening.
These governors need to grow a pair and end this.