Trump threatens to use military to quell violent protests
Military leaders disagree on being used as a prop by Trump; Jennifer Griffin reports.
Evangelical leader Pat Robertson criticized President Trump Tuesday for berating governors and threatening to deploy the military amid the racially charged protests and riots sweeping the nation following the death of George Floyd.
"It seems like now is the time to say, 'I understand your pain, I want to comfort you, I think it's time we love each other,'" Robertson said on "The 700 Club."
"But the president took a different course. He said ‘I am the president of law and order’ and he issued a heads-up. He said, 'I am ready to send in military troops if the nation’s governors don’t act to quell the violence that has rocked American cities.' Matter of fact, he spoke of them as being ‘jerks.’ You just don’t do that, Mr. President! It isn’t cool!”
In a tense conference call Monday, Trump told the nation's governors that "most" of them were "weak," saying, “You have to arrest people."
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The president added that they had to "dominate" in their respective states. “They're going to run over you, you're going to look like a bunch of jerks. You have to dominate.”
Trump later gave a statement in the Rose Garden in which he announced that he would direct the U.S. military to fill the gaps in cities' responses to the riots.
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On Tuesday, he took special aim at New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo for refusing his "offer of a dominating National Guard.
"New York was lost to the looters, thugs, Radical Left, and all others forms of Lowlife & Scum," he tweeted.
He also criticized the 11:00 p.m. curfew for New York City, arguing it should be earlier.
"New York City put on an 11:00 P.M. CURFEW last night. No wonder they ripped the place apart. Should be 7:00 P.M. CALL UP THE NATIONAL GUARD. #SAVENYC," he tweeted.
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