President Trump slams governors as 'weak,' urges crackdown on protests

I want to express our nation's deepest condolences and most heartfelt sympathies to the family of George Floyd. Terrible event. Terrible, terrible thing that happened. I've asked that the Department of Justice expedite the federal investigation into his death and do it immediately do it as quickly as absolutely possible. It's a local situation, but we're also making it into a federal situation, and it's ah, it's a terrible thing. We all saw what we saw, and it's very hard to even conceive of anything other than what we did see. Should never happen. Should never be allowed to happen a thing like that. But we're determined that justice be served. And I spoke to members of the family terrific people and will be reporting as time goes by. We think that, uh, we also have to make a statement, and it's very important that, uh, we have peaceful protesters and support the rights for peaceful protesters. We can't allow a situation like happened in Mini Annapolis to descend further into lawless anarchy and chaos. Well, I've heard that phrase for a long time. I don't know where it came from, where it originated. I view that phrase is 67. Well, I don't know. I've also heard from many other places, but I've heard it for a long time. Is most people have been Frankly, it means when there's looting, people get shot and they die. And if you look at what happened last night in the night before, you see that is very common and that's the way that was meant. And that's the way I think it was supposed to be meant. But I don't know where it came from. I don't know where it originated. I wouldn't know a thing like that. But I will say it's very accurate in the sense that when you do have looting like you had last night, people often get shot and they die, and that's not good. And we don't want that to happen yet. Please

Related video above — President Trump: when looting happens, 'people get shot'President Donald Trump on Monday derided many governors as “weak” and demanded tougher crackdowns on burning and stealing among some demonstrations in the aftermath of another night of violent protests in dozens of American cities.Trump spoke to governors on a video teleconference that also included law enforcement and national security officials, telling the state leaders they “have to get much tougher."“Most of you are weak,” Trump said. “You have to arrest people.”The days of protests were triggered by the death of George Floyd, a black man who died when a white Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for several minutes. The demonstrations turned violent in several cities, with looting and mayhem, and fires ignited in historic Lafayette Park across from the White House.The president urged the governors to deploy the National Guard, which he credited for helping calm the situation Sunday night in Minneapolis. He demanded that similarly tough measures be taken in cities that also experienced a spasm of violence, including New York, Philadelphia and Los Angeles.“You’ve got to arrest people, you have to track people, you have to put them in jail for 10 years and you’ll never see this stuff again,” said Trump. “We’re doing it in Washington, D.C. We’re going to do something that people haven’t seen before."The president told the governors they were making themselves “look like fools” for not calling up more of the National Guard as a show of force on city streets.Attorney General Bill Barr, who was also on the call, told governors that a joint terrorist task force would be used to track agitators and urged local officials to “dominate” the streets and control, not react to crowds, and urged them to “go after troublemakers.”Trump's angry exhortations at the nation's governors came after a night of escalating violence, images of fires and looting and clashes with police filling the nation's airwaves and overshadowing the largely peaceful protests. The protests grew so heated Friday night that the Secret Service rushed the president to an underground bunker previously used during terrorist attacks.On Monday, Trump also spoke of trying to criminalize flag-burning. The Supreme Court has conservative new members since it last ruled on that issue, and Trump said that “I think it's time to review that again.”He continued his effort to project strength, using a series of inflammatory tweets and delivering partisan attacks during a time of national crisis.As cities burned night after night and images of violence dominated television coverage, Trump’s advisers discussed the prospect of an Oval Office address in an attempt to ease tensions. The notion was quickly scrapped for lack of policy proposals and the president’s own seeming disinterest in delivering a message of unity.Trump did not appear in public on Sunday and was not scheduled to on Monday either.The demonstrations in Washington appeared to catch officers by surprise. They sparked one of the highest alerts at the White House complex since the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001. Secret Service protocol would call for all those under the agency’s protection to be in the underground shelter.Trump has told advisers he worries about his safety, while both privately and publicly praising the work of the Secret Service. Demonstrators returned Sunday afternoon, facing off against police at Lafayette Park into the evening. Trump retweeted a message from a conservative commentator encouraging authorities to respond with greater force.“This isn’t going to stop until the good guys are willing to use overwhelming force against the bad guys,” Buck Sexton wrote in a message amplified by the president.In recent days security at the White House has been reinforced by the National Guard and additional personnel from the Secret Service and the U.S. Park Police. The Justice Department deployed members of the U.S. Marshals Service and agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration to supplement National Guard troops outside the White House, according to a senior Justice Department official. The official could not discuss the matter publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.___Lemire reported from New York. Associated Press writer Michael Balsamo contributed to this report.

Related video above — President Trump: when looting happens, 'people get shot'

President Donald Trump on Monday derided many governors as “weak” and demanded tougher crackdowns on burning and stealing among some demonstrations in the aftermath of another night of violent protests in dozens of American cities.

Trump spoke to governors on a video teleconference that also included law enforcement and national security officials, telling the state leaders they “have to get much tougher."

“Most of you are weak,” Trump said. “You have to arrest people.”

The days of protests were triggered by the death of George Floyd, a black man who died when a white Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for several minutes. The demonstrations turned violent in several cities, with looting and mayhem, and fires ignited in historic Lafayette Park across from the White House.

The president urged the governors to deploy the National Guard, which he credited for helping calm the situation Sunday night in Minneapolis. He demanded that similarly tough measures be taken in cities that also experienced a spasm of violence, including New York, Philadelphia and Los Angeles.

“You’ve got to arrest people, you have to track people, you have to put them in jail for 10 years and you’ll never see this stuff again,” said Trump. “We’re doing it in Washington, D.C. We’re going to do something that people haven’t seen before."

The president told the governors they were making themselves “look like fools” for not calling up more of the National Guard as a show of force on city streets.

Attorney General Bill Barr, who was also on the call, told governors that a joint terrorist task force would be used to track agitators and urged local officials to “dominate” the streets and control, not react to crowds, and urged them to “go after troublemakers.”

Trump's angry exhortations at the nation's governors came after a night of escalating violence, images of fires and looting and clashes with police filling the nation's airwaves and overshadowing the largely peaceful protests. The protests grew so heated Friday night that the Secret Service rushed the president to an underground bunker previously used during terrorist attacks.

On Monday, Trump also spoke of trying to criminalize flag-burning. The Supreme Court has conservative new members since it last ruled on that issue, and Trump said that “I think it's time to review that again.”

He continued his effort to project strength, using a series of inflammatory tweets and delivering partisan attacks during a time of national crisis.

As cities burned night after night and images of violence dominated television coverage, Trump’s advisers discussed the prospect of an Oval Office address in an attempt to ease tensions. The notion was quickly scrapped for lack of policy proposals and the president’s own seeming disinterest in delivering a message of unity.

Trump did not appear in public on Sunday and was not scheduled to on Monday either.

The demonstrations in Washington appeared to catch officers by surprise. They sparked one of the highest alerts at the White House complex since the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001.

Secret Service protocol would call for all those under the agency’s protection to be in the underground shelter.

Trump has told advisers he worries about his safety, while both privately and publicly praising the work of the Secret Service.

Demonstrators returned Sunday afternoon, facing off against police at Lafayette Park into the evening. Trump retweeted a message from a conservative commentator encouraging authorities to respond with greater force.

“This isn’t going to stop until the good guys are willing to use overwhelming force against the bad guys,” Buck Sexton wrote in a message amplified by the president.

In recent days security at the White House has been reinforced by the National Guard and additional personnel from the Secret Service and the U.S. Park Police.

The Justice Department deployed members of the U.S. Marshals Service and agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration to supplement National Guard troops outside the White House, according to a senior Justice Department official. The official could not discuss the matter publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

___

Lemire reported from New York. Associated Press writer Michael Balsamo contributed to this report.

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