DC Mayor Has ‘Black Lives Matter’ Painted on Street Leading to White House; Trump Goes After Mayor on Twitter: ‘Incompetent’

Sarah RumpfJun 5th, 2020, 7:51 pm
 

“Black Lives Matter” painted on street in Washington, D.C. on June 5, 2020. Photo by @MayorBowser via Twitter.

On Friday, photos and video went viral of the phrase “Black Lives Matter” being painted in giant yellow letters on a street in Washington, D.C., but the art project highlighted divisions between several of the key leaders in our nation’s capital, as President Donald Trump, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, and the D.C. Chapter of Black Lives Matter traded criticisms back and forth.

The painting began before dawn along 16th Street, one of the streets that leads to the White House. While the presidential residence is federal property, the streets surrounding it are city-owned, and Bowser authorized the painting of the bright yellow letters stretching the full width of the street and visible from blocks away. Because of the location and the large size of the message, many interpreted it as a rebuke of Trump.

The city also officially designated a section of the street directly in front of the White House as “Black Lives Matter Plaza.”

Bowser proudly posted several photos and videos showing the new Plaza sign and yellow letters on the street surface.

However, Bowser’s pride was not shared by the official D.C. chapter of Black Lives Matter, which posted a series of tweets throughout the day, slamming the street sign and painting as merely “performative” and “a distraction from her active counter organizing to our demands to decrease the police budget and invest in the community.” The organization also said Bowser “has consistently been on the wrong side of BLMDC history.”

Trump, unsurprisingly, did not pass up the opportunity to respond to Bowser’s implied message, throwing his own criticism at her for city budget problems and Bowser’s disagreement with Trump deploying National Guard troops in the city.

So far, Bowser has not publicly replied to either Trump or the Black Lives Matter city chapter.

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Sarah Rumpf - Contributing Editor

Sarah Rumpf joined Mediaite in 2020 and is a Contributing Editor focusing on politics, law, and the media. A native Floridian, Sarah attended the University of Florida, graduating with a double major in Political Science and German, and earned her Juris Doctor, cum laude, from the UF College of Law. Sarah's writing has been featured at National Review, The Daily Beast, Reason, Law&Crime, Independent Journal Review, Texas Monthly, The Capitolist, Breitbart Texas, Townhall, RedState, The Orlando Sentinel, and the Austin-American Statesman, and her political commentary has led to appearances on television, radio, and podcast programs across the globe. Follow Sarah on Threads, Twitter, and Bluesky.