US protests: Trump hails ‘many arrests’ in Washington, blasts ‘scum’ in New York
- Protesters take to the streets despite curfews and the US president’s threat to send in the military
- While many of the protests have been peaceful, four police officers were shot and injured in St. Louis and one is on life support after being shot in Las Vegas
Criticism from many Democrats and some members of his own Republican Party mounted in response to Trump’s pose on Monday with a Bible in front of a church near the White House. National Guard officers fired tear gas and rubber bullets at peaceful protesters to clear the way for the president’s walk to St. John’s Church for the photo opportunity.
Trump justified the show of force by saying on Twitter that “DC had no problems last night. Many arrests. Great job done by all. Overwhelming force. Domination”. He then said New York City was lost to “looters”, “thugs”, and “scum”.
Trump called out New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo for refusing to allow in “a dominating National Guard”, and zinged the governor’s younger brother and CNN anchor Chris Cuomo by referring to him as “Fredo”, a reference to a younger sibling of the titular character in Mario Puzo’s classic novel about mafia violence, The Godfather.
Addressing Trump’s church pose, Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, said Trump’s “narcissism has become more important than the nation that he leads”.
“This president today is part of the problem and accelerates it,” Biden said at a campaign event in Philadelphia, adding that Trump is “consumed with his blinding ego”.
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Asian-Americans in New York among those joining US protests after George Floyd’s death
“Weakness will never beat anarchists, looters or thugs, and Joe has been politically weak all of his life,” Trump tweeted in response. “LAW & ORDER!”