The same president who has defended White supremacists and called them “very fine” people is now calling the protesters demanding justice for George Floyd in Minneapolis “thugs” on Twitter.
Trump sent out the tweet at 12:53 am on Friday morning, slamming “Radical Left” Mayor Jacob Frey and the Minneapolis community that are currently expressing their anguish over the senseless killing of another Black man at the hands of police.
“I can’t stand back & watch this happen to a great American City, Minneapolis. A total lack of leadership. Either the very weak Radical Left Mayor, Jacob Frey, get his act together and bring the City under control, or I will send in the National Guard & get the job done right,” Trump tweeted.
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“These THUGS are dishonoring the memory of George Floyd, and I won’t let that happen,” he added.
The President then threatened violent military action, quipping, “when the looting starts, the shooting starts.”
“Just spoke to Governor Tim Walz and told him that the Military is with him all the way,” he wrote. “Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts. Thank you!”
The tweet, more specifically the second one referencing the military and shooting, once again drew the attention of Twitter who has been sparring with the President this week.
Twitter blocked the tweet from immediate view, claiming that it “violated the Twitter rules about glorifying violence” although acknowledging that “it may be in the public’s interest for the Tweet to remain accessible.”
Earlier this week, Twitter fact-checked some of Trump’s tweets on mail-in ballots, prompting the President to accuse the social media of stifling free speech.
Later that week, Trump signed an executive order scrutinizing social media companies and could rid them of certain protections afforded to them under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996.
“This will be a Big Day for Social Media and FAIRNESS!” he tweeted hours before signing the order.