United States President Donald Trump on Monday threatened to call in the armed forces as protests against the killing of George Floyd escalated in cities across the country, CNN reported.
This came soon after tear gas was fired at a group of protestors outside the White House, following which Trump made his way across the street to St John’s church where he held aloft a Bible for photos to be taken with some of his senior staffers.
In remarks made at the Rose Garden after the photo-op, he called himself the “president of law and order” and threatened to deploy the United States military to quell protests. Trump said he would mobilise “thousands and thousands” of soldiers to keep the peace if state governors did not use the National Guard to take the sting out of the protests. “If a city or state refuses to take the actions that are necessary... then I’ll deploy the United States military and quickly solve the problem for them,” BBC quoted the president as saying.
To deploy the armed forces for law enforcement, Trump would have to invoke the 1807 Insurrection Act.
Trump is now facing criticism for both acts. Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden was among those who tore into Trump for what happened. Biden said that the president was “using the American military against the American people”. “He tear-gassed peaceful protesters and fired rubber bullets. For a photo,” Biden tweeted. “For our children, for the very soul of our country, we must defeat him.”
While Trump added that justice would be served for George Floyd, he said nothing of the racism behind the incident, which has triggered violent as well as peaceful protests across at least 140 cities in the US.
Floyd, an unarmed black man, was choked to death as a white police officer knelt on his neck for almost nine minutes while arresting him for allegedly using a counterfeit note. The officer was later arrested upon public outrage and charged with murder in the third degree. Protestors are demanding that the three other officers, along with the one who killed Floyd, who were involved in the arrest be detained too. All four were sacked from the Minneapolis police after the killing.
Trump on Monday also had a “heated exchange” with US governors, according to CNN, where he told them: “You have to dominate or you’ll look like a bunch of jerks, you have to arrest and try people.” CNN accessed a recording of the call.
“You don’t have to be too careful,” he said, reprimanding them for for their alleged weak responses. He also stressed that the protests have been spurred on by a “radical left”. “It’s a movement, if you don’t put it down it will get worse and worse,” Trump said. “The only time it’s successful is when you’re weak and most of you are weak.”
In response to this, the chief of police in Houston, Texas, said if Trump did not have anything constructive to say, he should “keep his mouth shut”. Watch the video here.
‘Decades-long failure to reform police practices’
Several leaders and dozens of world figures have responded to George Floyd’s killing and the protests that have followed. Businessperson and former PepsiCo chief Indra Nooyi tweeted about the incident. “We all have a responsibility to recognise this pain and the systemic racism that has caused it [Floyd’s killing], and also to act by listening, reading, and supporting organisations that make justice their mission.” She added: “This is especially important if you come from a place of privilege that protects you in some capacity.”
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said: “There is no place for hate and racism in our society. Empathy and shared understanding are a start, but we must do more. I stand with the Black and African American community and we are committed to building on this work in our company and in our communities.”
On Monday, former President Barack Obama also released a statement on George Floyd’s killing and the protests. “The protests represent a genuine and legitimate frustration over a decades-long failure to reform police practices and the broader criminal justice system,” he said. “We should condemn the few who resort to violence-not the overwhelming majority who deserve our respect and support. The point of protest is to raise public awareness, to put a spotlight on injustice, and to make the powers that be uncomfortable. But eventually, we have to translate those aspirations into specific laws and institutional practices.”
Closer to home, Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati tweeted, “Floyd’s killing by police and the ‘Black lives matter’ agitation in the US have given a clear message to the world that a common man’s life has value and it should not be taken for granted.”
Also read: George Floyd death: Donald Trump took shelter in White House bunker as protests raged, say reports
George Floyd: Medical examiner classifies African-American man’s death as homicide
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