On Monday, which doubled as the first day of the Democratic National Convention (DNC), President Donald Trump went to Minnesota. While standing on the tarmac at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport with Air Force One in the background, Trump ranted and raved to a crowd of supporters who’d gathered, delivering an angry, lie-riddled screed against Democrats, even singling out former First Lady Michelle Obama for criticism because she pre-recorded a speech for the DNC rather than delivering it live. He also claimed that during riots in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area earlier in the year, leaders, including the state’s Democratic Governor Tim Walz, had been “weak” — but Walz is the one who called in the National Guard!
Trump also claimed, wrongly, that Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey (D) had simply “refused to defend” the people of the city, which is just a completely wrong assessment of the situation. Frey supported local law enforcement.
Referring to individuals whose businesses were impacted during rioting and looting in the city, Trump said:
‘While the city’s liberal mayor refused to defend its citizens, which was incredible, their lives were destroyed. While the leadership of the Democrat Party cheered, their dreams were burned to the ground. We all witnessed it, we all saw it, very vividly on television or wherever. This is the difference between us and Joe Biden, Mayor Jacob Frey, and Governor Tim Walz. Weakness is also the currency of your liberal Senator Tina Smith… My message to Minnesota is clear: I am here to help you, we will bring back law and order to your community. We will bring it back, and we’ll bring it back immediately.’
Watch below:
JUST IN: President Trump mocks #DNC2020 for airing taped speeches: "These are all taped speeches. Michelle Obama, her speech is taped." pic.twitter.com/mMOraUdk1d
— The Hill (@thehill) August 17, 2020
Democratic leaders did not “cheer” while “dreams were burned to the ground.” That is a ridiculous claim. In Minneapolis and around the country, Democratic leaders supported the efforts of local law enforcement against rioters. From New York City to Atlanta, this fact is clear.
Meanwhile, Trump went on to claim that, if presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden is elected, then a “war” on police will be waged from the White House. Elsewhere, Trump has claimed that Biden wants to “defund” the police. He does not — in fact, he has literally said the opposite, explaining not too long ago that he thinks that police departments should get more funding in order to deal with their day-to-day issues.
Still, Trump also claimed that if Biden is elected, then the Second Amendment will be in jeopardy — which there’s no evidence for and there’s been no evidence for on any of the other innumerable occasions that Trump and his allies have made the claim. No Democratic squads are going to be seizing all of the nation’s guns — although Trump, whose messiah complex gets more brazen by the day, claimed on Monday that he is the “only thing” standing in the way of the destruction of the Second Amendment.
Trump has good reason to be paranoid about his political prospects. As of Monday afternoon, Biden leads Trump by an average of 7.7 percent in national polls, according to RealClearPolitics. Biden also leads in many polls in important swing states around the country, including states that Trump won in 2016.
