Reports from government officials in Minneapolis have shown that the violence there during the past five nights of protest may be coming from outside groups, including drug cartels and white supremacists. Instead of acknowledging this, Donald Trump has spent Saturday morning on Twitter inviting his supporters to come deal with protesters themselves and inciting violence by blaming “ANTIFA and radical left supporters.”
Much more “disinformation” coming out of CNN, MSDNC, @nytimes and @washingtonpost, by far, than coming out of any foreign country, even combined. Fake News is the Enemy of the People!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 30, 2020
Trump is correct that the violence appears to be coming from outside groups and not the peaceful protesters demanding justice. Where he’s wrong is that there is any support at all for the claim that people on the left are responsible. Pushing that narrative will not only incite violence among his most radical supporters, it will cause the peaceful protesters to be caught up in the middle of that violence. The protesters, it’s important to remember, have killed no one. Eight of them have been killed because they protested the systematic murder of three black Americans.
It’s also interesting to note that Trump seems more outraged over the loss of businesses than he has ever been about the loss of black lives. There have been no tweets calling out the murderers who left George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, or Ahmud Arbery dead. He has never criticized police departments for failing to arrest and investigate these murders quickly. Instead, he’s outraged about the loss of property far more than the loss of human lives.
Twitter saw through Trump’s indignation and his call to violence. Read some of their comments below:
Featured image screenshot via YouTube
