Trump made the remarks in an August 31, 2020 Fox News interview:
The police are under siege because of things – they can do 10,000 great acts, which is what they do, and one bad apple, or a choker – you know a choker, they choke, shooting the guy in the back many times. Couldn’t you have done something different? Couldn’t you have wrestled him? In the meantime, he might’ve been going for a weapon. And there’s a whole big thing there. But they choke. Just like in a golf tournament, they miss a three-foot putt.
On June 1, 2020, amid national protests and riots following George Floyd’s death at the hands of police, Trump gave a speech wherein he threatened to unilaterally deploy the military to quell unrest.
First, we are ending the riots and lawlessness that has spread throughout our country. We will end it now. Today, I have strongly recommended to every governor to deploy the National Guard in sufficient numbers that we dominate the streets. Mayors and governors must establish an overwhelming law enforcement presence until the violence has been quelled.
If a city or a state refuses to take the actions that are necessary to defend the life and property of their residents, then I will deploy the United States military and quickly solve the problem for them.
After the speech at the White House, Trump headed to St. John’s Church for a photo op. Lafayette Square, which sits between the White House and the Church, was filled with people protesting the death of George Floyd. The park is famed for being a place to voice grievances, seeing hundreds of protests annually.
Map of the White House, Lafayette Square, and St. John’s. Google Earth
Attorney General William Barr gave the order for US Park Police, the federal organization responsible for overseeing and securing the park, to clear the area so Trump could proceed to St. John’s. Without warning, the federal officers equipped in riot gear deployed tear gas and rubber bullets on the crowd.
An Australian news crew on the scene filmed the moment the police began to advance. The cameraman was briefly attacked by one of the officers.
The administration originally claimed that no tear gas had been used, despite CS canisters being found at the scene. A spokesman for the US Park Service later said “It was a mistake on our part for using ‘tear gas’ [in our statement].”
Once Trump reached St. John’s, he posed with a Bible in front of the church briefly before leaving. When asked if it was his Bible, Trump simply responded, “it’s a Bible.”
Patrick Semansky / AP Photo
The pastor of St. John’s said he wasn’t made aware of the photo op. Mariann Budde, the Episcopal Bishop of Washington, DC noted that no one was “given even a courtesy call, that they would be clearing with tear gas so they could use one of our churches as a prop.”
Budde commented further on Twitter:
The Bible teaches us to love God and our neighbor; that all people are beloved children of God; that we are to do justice and love kindness. The President used our sacred text as a symbol of division.
In a string of tweets amid protests at the White House against George Floyd’s death at the hands of police, Trump threatened the use of “the most vicious dogs, and most ominous weapons.”
Great job last night at the White House by the U.S. @SecretService. They were not only totally professional, but very cool. I was inside, watched every move, and couldn’t have felt more safe. They let the “protesters” scream & rant as much as they wanted, but whenever someone….
….have been greeted with the most vicious dogs, and most ominous weapons, I have ever seen. That’s when people would have been really badly hurt, at least. Many Secret Service agents just waiting for action. “We put the young ones on the front line, sir, they love it, and….
In June 2020, former Secretary of Defense James Mattis wrote an op-ed titled “In Union there is Strength” in which he attacked Trump’s handling of ongoing protests in the wake of George Floyd’s death at the hands of police.
Mattis specifically referenced Trump and what he considered to be a failure of leadership:
Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people — does not even pretend to try. Instead, he tries to divide us. We are witnessing the consequences of three years of this deliberate effort. We are witnessing the consequences of three years without mature leadership. We can unite without him, drawing on the strengths inherent in our civil society. …We must reject and hold accountable those in office who would make a mockery of our Constitution. At the same time, we must remember Lincoln’s “better angels,” and listen to them, as we work to unite.
Mattis also commented on Trump’s handling of ongoing protests in the wake of George Floyd’s death at the hands of police:
At home, we should use our military only when requested to do so, on very rare occasions, by state governors. Militarizing our response, as we witnessed in Washington, D.C., sets up a conflict—a false conflict—between the military and civilian society.
Trump responded via tweet, calling Mattis “the world’s most overrated general.”
…His primary strength was not military, but rather personal public relations. I gave him a new life, things to do, and battles to win, but he seldom “brought home the bacon”. I didn’t like his “leadership” style or much else about him, and many others agree. Glad he is gone!
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.”
….These THUGS are dishonoring the memory of George Floyd, and I won’t let that happen. Just spoke to Governor Tim Walz and told him that the Military is with him all the way. Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts. Thank you!
The tweet was flagged by Twitter as violating its rules about glorifying violence.
This Tweet violates our policies regarding the glorification of violence based on the historical context of the last line, its connection to violence, and the risk it could inspire similar actions today. https://t.co/sl4wupRfNH
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.
On June 5th, a protester was filmed approaching police amid Buffalo protests in the wake of George Floyd’s death. The man, 75-year-old Martin Gugino, was pushed by an officer, and tumbled backwards onto the floor, heading his head with enough force to leave blood.
A Buffalo Police Department statement immediately released afterward appeared to claim that the man, who was the only known injury, had tripped and fallen:
A 5th person was arrested during a skirmish with other protestors and also charged with disorderly conduct. During that skirmish involving protestors, one person was injured when he tripped & fell.
The two officers involved were subsequently suspended, pending an internal investigation.
The following week, Trump took to Twitter to suggest that the protester, still hospitalized and recovering from his injuries, was an Antifa crisis actor, and that the entire thing “could be a set up.”
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?
In February 2016 during a Las Vegas rally, Trump mocked protesters as they were ejected, and boasted of how he would like to “punch them in the face” while reminiscing of past times when they would’ve had to be “carried out in a stretcher.”
I love the old days, you know. You what I hate, there’s a guy, totally disruptive, throwing punches, we’re not allowed to punch back anymore. I love the old days. You know what they used to do in the old days for guys like that in a place like this? They’d be carried out in a stretcher, folks. That’s true.
You know I love our police, I really respect our police, and they’re not getting enough, they’re not, but, honestly, I hate to see that. Here’s a a guy throwing punches nasty as hell, screaming at everything else when and we’re talking, and he’s walking out and we’re not allowed, you know, the guards are very gentle with him. Like big high-fives, smiling, laughing.
Like to punch him in the face, I’ll tell ya.
Though Trump claimed multiple times that the protester in question was throwing punches of his own, there is no evidence to support it. A security officer present, who asked to remain anonymous, told Politico that Trump “was just over-exaggerating.”
That same month, Trump promised to pay the legal fees for anyone who would “knock the crap out of” protesters, which he later reneged on when a supporter assaulted a protester.
As peaceful protesters were removed from a rally in St. Louis, Missouri, candidate Trump complained about how they were being peacefully ejected, lamenting how there used to be consequences for protest.
Part of the problem and part of the reason it takes so long [to kick them out] is nobody wants to hurt each other anymore. There used to be consequences. There are none anymore.
These people are so bad for our country. You have no idea folks, you have no idea.
The month prior, Trump promised to pay the legal fees for anyone who would “knock the crap out of” protesters, which he later reneged on when a supporter assaulted a protester.
In 2016, candidate Trump promised to pay the legal fees for anyone who would “knock the crap” out of protesters throwing tomatoes. When one of his supporters assaulted a peaceful protester, Trump backtracked, claiming he never made the promise.
If you see somebody getting ready to throw a tomato, knock the crap out of them, would you? Seriously. Okay, just knock the hell – I promise you, I will pay for the legal fees, I promise. I promise.
A week prior at an Iowa rally, a protester had thrown a tomato at Trump, which missed:
Soon after Trump promised to pay legal fees, John McGraw, 78, struck nonviolent protester Rakeem Jones at a North Carolina rally.
Rakeem Jones and John McGraw. Photos by Liz Condo for The Washington Post
Immediately after, an Inside Edition reporter asked McGraw about the act. He replied,
You bet I liked it. Knocking the hell out of that big mouth. We don’t know who he is, but we know he;s not acting like an American….yes we deserved it. The next time we see him, we might have to kill him. We don’t know who he is. He might be with a terrorist organization.
McGraw was charged with assault and battery, and called for Trump to own up to his word and pay his legal fees. Trump first said he “instructed my people to look into” the matter during an appearance on Meet the Press, but then later that same week on Good Morning America said,
Somebody asked me the question. And I hadn’t even seen it. So I never said I was going to pay for fees…I don’t condone violence at all. I looked and I watched and I’m going to make a decision, but I certainly don’t condone violence.
9 months after the incident, McGraw pleaded no content in court to assault and disorderly conduct charges. He was sentenced to a suspended 30-day jail sentence and a year on unsupervised probation.
McGraw shook hands with Jones in court, offering an apology which Jones accepted with an embrace.
At an Alabama rally on September 23, 2017, Trump explained how he wanted to see NFL players fired for protesting the US flag and national anthem.
Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when someone disrespects our flag to say, ‘get that son of a bitch off the field right now. Out. He’s fired. He’s fired!
Trump’s remarks came after dozens of players across the regular and preseasons took a knee during the national anthem. They had joined Colin Kaepernick in protest the season prior, who was not on an NFL roster at the time of Trump’s remarks.
Kaepernick explained that the reason for his protest was because he was “not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color.” He was advised to take a knee by NFL player and former US Army Green Beret Nate Boyer, who considered it a form of protest most respectful to other service members.
AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez
Trump praised a later NFL ban on kneeling players, suggesting such protests were un-American:
You have to stand proudly for the national anthem or you shouldn’t be playing, you shouldn’t be there, maybe you shouldn’t be in the country.
