State governors are being “too soft” and “weak” on the rioters and protesters who are staging massive demonstrations across the country, President Donald Trump said during a call with government officials.
“You have to dominate if you don’t dominate you’re wasting your time. They’re going to run over you, you’re going to look like a bunch of jerks,” Trump said as he lashed out at the governors, as per the audio obtained by the press.
"It's a movement. If you don't put it down, it will get worse and worse,” Trump said as he berated the officials, adding that the “movement” ?– which he has linked to the Democrats, the far Left, mainstream media and the anarchist organization Antifa ?– will be successful if the governors don’t put their feet down on the problem.
“The only time it's successful is when you're weak and most of you are weak," Trump said.
According to the president, a good move for the governors – whom he said were looking like “fools” in the face of the ongoing riots and violence ?– would be to call up and deploy the National Guard, which he credited with successfully de-escalating the situation in Minneapolis.
“You’ve got a big National Guard out there that’s ready to come in and fight like hell. I tell ya, the best, what they did in Minneapolis was incredible,” Trump said, adding that Minneapolis’ decision to bring in the National Guard was “a beautiful thing to watch.”
In addition to calling on the National Guard, Trump has also suggested mass incarcerations to solve the ongoing crisis.
“You have to arrest people. And you have to try people and they have to go to jail for long periods of time,” stated Trump, in reference to the protesters and looters who participated in the riots.
“You have to put them in jail for 10 years, then you’ll never see this stuff again,” he said during the call.
Washington: Governors must "control the streets"
According to Trump, the protests and riots ?– most of which were started as a response to the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who was killed by a white police officer ?– are “eroding” the United States’ image to the rest of the world, and that the riots are making the country’s officials look like “pushovers.”
Attorney General Bill Barr, who also participated in the call, told the governors that they have to enforce measures not just to “control the streets” but also to get the primary instigators of the riots. (Related: Multiple cities declare curfews as Antifa riots continue.)
"The reason we have to control the streets is not just to bring peace to that town but give us an opportunity to get the bad actors," Barr said during the phone call, adding that the government must not play a game of “whack-a-mole” but instead, take out “national instigators" – a possible reference to reports wherein rioters allegedly crossed state lines to instigate more violence.
Defense Secretary Esper says states must "dominate battlespace" to solve riots
Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper, who was also present during the call, explained that while about 70,000 National Guard troops have been activated in 29 states, most of the states using them have fewer than 200 deployed.
Esper during the call, underscored the president’s words, noting that government officials must take it upon themselves to “dominate the battlespace” if they want to solve the problems posed by the riots.
“I think the sooner that you .?.?. dominate the battlespace, the quicker this dissipates and we can get back to the right normal,” Esper told the governors.
Trump to deploy U.S. military to quell riots, Antifa violence
The president doubled down on his message to the governors during a press briefing at the White House Monday.
Trump, who was speaking from the historic Rose Garden, said he will deploy the U.S. military to cities or states that don't take "necessary" actions to halt the ongoing violent protests, noting that the armed forces will "quickly solve the problem for them."
President Trump, who considers himself to be an ally of all peaceful protesters, said the current movement breaking out in many cities across the country are "acts of domestic terror."
"These are not acts of peaceful protests. These are acts of domestic terror. The destruction of innocent life, and the spilling of innocent blood, is an offense to humanity and a crime against God," Trump said, adding that he is taking “immediate presidential action” in order to stop the violence.
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