Sunday saw some of the most intense protests thus far in the case of George Floyd’s death, with demonstrators clashing with police and National Guard members around the nation.
And while a vast majority of those who attended the events did so with the intention of remaining peaceful, agitators within the large crowds were able to stir up some heavy-handed response from the police as they committed arson, launched fireworks at authorities, looted, and destroyed both police and personal vehicles.
On a Monday conference call, President Donald Trump urged local authorities to gain control of the situation, and he did so with stern language.
The president told the leaders they “have to get much tougher” because “most of you are weak” while Attorney General Bill Barr also reportedly told the governors to “go after troublemakers” in order to control the crowds.
During the conference call, he claimed the current law enforcement presence was “weak” across the U.S. and urged governors to increase policing amid the nationwide protests, which began after George Floyd’s fatal arrest.
The president repeatedly questioned the leadership of the governors, and asked them “dominate” and target protesters, and to make use of the National Guard.
The President repeatedly used the phrase “dominate” to describe his idea of an appropriate response.
“Once you go down and you dominate it, you take the worst place and you made it— they didn’t even cover it last night … because you dominated, you dominated. What happens in New York, I have to tell you, I lived in Manhattan, what’s going on in Manhattan? I have no idea. New York’s finest … I don’t know what’s happening in Manhattan but it’s terrible. Because it’s Manhattan it gets a lot of press. So they really spend a lot of time on it. But New York is gonna have to have to toughen up and we’ll send you National Guard if you want. You have the largest police force in the country, 40,000 people are on the staff. What’s going on in New York is terrible, it’s terrible. All the places. What happened last night in Los Angeles … is terrible. Those dominations, you have to dominate them.”
Protesters are likely to continue demonstrating for some time to come, which leaves much of America wondering just how much bloodier the situation could turn.
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