The president’s tweet earned a warning label from Twitter for violating its policies on “glorifying violence.”
President Donald Trump on Friday appeared to urge the shooting of looters in Minnesota, bursting into a volatile national debate over the death of an African-American man in police custody and issuing an online provocation against U.S. citizens so extraordinary it was partially obscured by Twitter.
“I can’t stand back & watch this happen to a great American City, Minneapolis. A total lack of leadership. Either the very weak Radical Left Mayor, Jacob Frey, get his act together and bring the City under control, or I will send in the National Guard & get the job done right,” Trump tweeted minutes before 1 a.m.
In the second part of his message, Trump tweeted: “These THUGS are dishonoring the memory of George Floyd, and I won’t let that happen. Just spoke to Governor Tim Walz and told him that the Military is with him all the way. Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts. Thank you!”
The president’s early morning post, which came at the end of the third day of raging protests in Minnesota’s Twin Cities, earned a warning label from Twitter for violating its policies on “glorifying violence.” But the popular social media platform “determined that it may be in the public’s interest for the Tweet to remain accessible,” and allowed users to view Trump’s tweet if they chose. Twitter’s communications team also tweeted it had “placed a public interest notice” on the post in part due to the “risk it could inspire similar actions today.”
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- Discussion
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President Trump late Thursday on Twitter appeared to urge the shooting of looters in Minnesota https://t.co/V6SZYUXxRj
— POLITICO (@politico) May 29, 2020
Boy-king playing soldier. https://t.co/wo1UB0shDy
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) May 29, 2020
2/ Nixon went full-on "law and order" not only as a signifier about African Americans but also about the hippy proto-Bernie Bros in Chicago.
Ailes knew a secret; "law and order" was a code for race *and* for culture anxiety in 1968. The Ailes campaign DNA is wired…
— Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) May 29, 2020
4/ By later today, you'll see a millions post about law and order backing a lawless and orderless Administration led by a criminal. Bannon, Miller, and the rest of the alt-reich Trumpers ADORE this culture war.
Irony has been dead for some time now and is stinking up the place.
— Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) May 29, 2020
6/ This is the culture war at its most cynical and dark, and Trump and his allies will be talking about the "long, hot summer" any time now.
They're ALREADY modeling how the rioting plays for campaign messaging, I promise you.
Also, 103,000 Americans are dead.
— Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) May 29, 2020
Process this: "Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts."
Now imagine what the State Department would say if China said the same thing.
— Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) May 29, 2020
Count on it. https://t.co/VYT4YTNYoM
— Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) May 29, 2020
Oh, bless her heart. https://t.co/aho397t6vt
— Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) May 29, 2020
I will not lift the President’s tweet. I will not give him that amplification. But he is calling for violence against American citizens during a moment of pain for so many. I’m furious, and you should be too.
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) May 29, 2020
It's telling how so many people (see comments) are not angry that the President threatened to kill Americans for property damage but are outraged I reported the tweet to Twitter.
You guys defend him at all costs, bc you're convicted by your own culpability.
— Nancy French (@NancyAFrench) May 29, 2020
"Constitutional conservatives" sold their souls to Donald Trump and will indulge the threats of violence and repression against their fellow citizens because they like being elected representatives who can live in Washington DC instead of among their scary constituents back home. https://t.co/ATwxE77cfP
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) May 29, 2020
This isn’t even a remotely competent attempt at spin. And his cult knows what he meant. https://t.co/isTKWKnFT1
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) May 29, 2020
Joe Biden denounced President Trump’s tweets about the violent protests and riots in Minneapolis, where demonstrators have railed against racial injustice in policing after the death of 46-year-old George Floyd https://t.co/d5Ef1qgnOY pic.twitter.com/yaNReajTBX
— POLITICO (@politico) May 29, 2020
Protester-initiated violence (again, irrespective of police violence), helped move public towards concern for “social control.” In 1968, I find violent protests likely caused a 1.6-7.9% shift among whites towards Nixon’s “law & order” campaign and helped tipped the election. 16/ pic.twitter.com/5D1TARpRhJ
— Omar Wasow (@owasow) May 27, 2020
A gentle reminder that provoking racial conflict between Americans to weaken the US is a tactical goal the Russian military assault on our 2016 elections sought to achieve. And did. They’re doing the same right now. Trump is their surrogate, don’t forget.
— Xeni Jardin 😷🏠 (@xeni) May 29, 2020
Way to go, Donnie! Fan the flames. I don’t care what the explanation is. Trump’s big yap and his Twitter nonsense is going to destroy us before the rioting does.
Saint Paul mayor says nearly everyone they arrested last night was from out of state. We need a deep dive into who they are, where they come from, what kinds of organizations they represent or support.
— Norman Ornstein (@NormOrnstein) May 30, 2020
Normally I would be suspicious about claims of “outside agitators” being responsible for this kind of behavior, but the transparency will allow us to sort out claims from fact https://t.co/AYbXoOwU4y
— Blake News (@blakehounshell) May 30, 2020
This is not normal https://t.co/dv7SXLVUnu
— Bradley P. Moss (@BradMossEsq) May 30, 2020
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