By all appearances, President Donald Trump does not remotely have any kind of handle on the situation unfolding across the United States in recent days. City after city has erupted into increasingly intense demonstrations against police brutality, and that list of affected cities even includes Washington, D.C., itself, where a slew of fires raged late Sunday night. Early this Monday afternoon, what’s Trump doing? He’s tweeting paranoid rants about “Anarchists” as if everyone who’s protesting is some kind of nefarious plotter just trying to make Trump look bad — and he’s following those rants up with comments like a Monday statement that a specialized air assault division of the U.S. Army should be turned against demonstrators.
Pritzker: your rhetoric incites violence and that is bad.
Trump: your rhetoric hurt my feelings, and that’s also bad. https://t.co/0yJiNtVnSn
— Brian Beutler (@brianbeutler) June 1, 2020
Alongside one extremely dubious video that shows three people talking on a sidewalk amidst a protest, Trump wrote:
‘Anarchists, we see you!’
Anarchists, we see you! pic.twitter.com/ov1dMLu4Eg
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 1, 2020
That post reeks of ignorance. There’s no reason to believe that there’s anything conclusive behind the president’s reference to “anarchists.” He likely saw other conservative talking heads losing their minds and decided to throw his nonsense in the ring, too.
A troubling part came next, when Trump insisted that the 101st Airborne Division of the U.S. Army should be turned against U.S. citizens. In cities across the United States, protests have been peaceful, but Trump has so far failed to meaningfully acknowledge this fact. Instead, he seems to be chomping at the bit to try and turn the force of the U.S. military against his domestic political opponents.
100% Correct. Thank you Tom! https://t.co/axdLX7kGNn
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 1, 2020
Trump wrote “100% Correct. Thank you Tom!” alongside a post from Arkansas Republican Senator Tom Cotton, who said:
‘Anarchy, rioting, and looting needs to end tonight. If local law enforcement is overwhelmed and needs backup, let’s see how tough these Antifa terrorists are when they’re facing off with the 101st Airborne Division. We need to have zero tolerance for this destruction.’
Yale Professor Gregg Gonsalves seemed to sum up the situation well when he replied, addressing Cotton directly:
‘You are a disgrace, beyond a disgrace. Asking for the military to go after American citizens is something worthy of dictators around the world. It’s evil and barbaric. Full stop.’
You are a disgrace, beyond a disgrace. Asking for the military to go after American citizens is something worthy of dictators around the world. It's evil and barbaric. Full stop.
— Gregg Gonsalves (@gregggonsalves) June 1, 2020
Check out Twitter’s response below to the president getting onboard with the violence:
