Amid mass protests the wake of George Floyd’s death at the hands of police, Trump threatened to deploy the the military to combat “thugs” and remarked, “when the looting starts, the shooting starts.”
The tweet was flagged by Twitter as violating its rules about glorifying violence.
Additionally, the phrase was coined by a notoriously racist Miami police chief in 1967, who also told the press “we don’t mind being accused of police brutality.” Trump’s handling of protests were denounced by former Secretary of Defense James Mattis.
CBS News – “When the looting starts, the shooting starts”: Trump tweet flagged by Twitter for “glorifying violence”
Business Insider – Trump claims his ‘when the looting starts, the shooting starts’ remarks weren’t a call to violence but instead a ‘fact’
Wikipedia – When the looting starts, the shooting starts
