Twitter Melts Down After Trump Speaks of Elderly Buffalo Man Injured by Police

America is enraged these days, with ever more instances of police brutality beaming into our homes over the course of the last two weeks.

This is all due to the massive and widespread protests that have erupted in the wake of George Floyd’s death at the hands of Minneapolis police officers, which was broadcast to the world via a gruesome video that was shared on social media in the hours after his demise.

In the ensuing days, another instance of police-involved violence came from Buffalo, New York, where an elderly man was shoved by police officers as he attempted to return a helmet to them.  Only one officer stops to help the man, who is now unconscious on the ground, bleeding from his skull and ears, and this compassionate inclination was interrupted by another officer shoving him forward.

The video had Americans far and wide simply furious.  Today, the President offered an opinion on the subject.

President Donald Trump tweeted a conspiracy theory on Tuesday about a Buffalo man injured by police that has circulated around fringe, far-right online media in recent days, adding to efforts from the president and other conservatives to cast protesters as part of a shadowy antifa movement.

Trump suggested that 75-year-old Martin Gugino, who is in serious but stable condition in a Buffalo hospital after being pushed by two police officers at a protest, may be an “ANTIFA provocateur” who was “scanning” police equipment when he was pushed.

The video of Gugino became one of the most-viewed examples of police violence related to the recent protests.

“Buffalo protester shoved by Police could be an ANTIFA provocateur. 75 year old Martin Gugino was pushed away after appearing to scan police communications in order to black out the equipment. @OANN I watched, he fell harder than was pushed. Was aiming scanner. Could be a set up?” the president tweeted.

This pushed Twitter users into full meltdown mode.

Kinda surreal when the President starts accusing your 75 yr old friend of being an agent of ANTIFA.

My friend Martin Gugino is an old man with cancer who is now in the hospital with brain damage after being pushed to the ground by a police officer he was trying to talk to.

— keithgiles (@keithgiles) June 9, 2020

Pres. Trump tweeting an unhinged conspiracy theory about an older gentleman severely hurt in Buffalo is not a political story. It defies any effort at rationalization or explanation. The problem is not that he tweeted it. The problem is he entertains this insanity.

— Dan Rather (@DanRather) June 9, 2020

Gov. Cuomo (D-NY) gets fired up over Trump’s Buffalo tweet: “How reckless, how irresponsible, how mean, how crude. If there was ever a reprehensible, dumb comment … and from the president of the United States.” pic.twitter.com/wHqlRTCPb8

— The Recount (@therecount) June 9, 2020

Gugino remains in the hospital on Tuesday.