Trump's Tough Talk To Governors Compared To An Arsonist Blaming Fire Departments
Twitter users had strong opinions about President Donald Trump accusing governors of being “weak” in their response to protests over racism and police treatment of Black communities that, while largely peaceful, were marred by instances of violence and looting.
During a Monday morning video conference call with the state leaders following a weekend of turmoil, Trump said most of the governors were “weak.” And he said, “You have to arrest people.”
HuffPost obtained an audio of the call.
Trump added:
“You have to dominate, if you don’t dominate, you’re wasting your time. They’re going to run over you, you’re going to look like a bunch of jerks. You have to dominate.”
This tweet contains part of his comments:
Here's the audio of that remarkable call where Trump lashes out at governors and says they need to crack down on protesters. pic.twitter.com/ANSsniYItN
— Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) June 1, 2020
Many Twitter users expressed doubt his message was the right one ― or that Trump is the right messenger at a very volatile time in U.S. history.
Trump in a call with governors says "most of you are weak" and demands a tougher response. That's sort of like an arsonist blaming the fire department.
— Dan Rather (@DanRather) June 1, 2020
Some found the president’s tough talk ironic, considering he spent a brief part of Friday night an underground bunker at the White House as an angry protest occurred in front of the executive mansion. Nor did he do much publicly during the weekend to attempt to quell the rage sparked by the May 25 killing of George Floyd, a Black man pinned to the ground by a white Minneapolis police officer for nearly nine minutes.
Trump just said “most of you are weak,” to Governors on a call. This coming from a coward hiding in his bunker.
— Scott Dworkin (@funder) June 1, 2020
obama cried for the children of sandy hook. trump hid in a bunker.
— Oliver Willis (@owillis) June 1, 2020
