Trump Praises National Guard Troops Cracking Down on Minneapolis Protests, Rioters: ‘Like a Knife Cutting Butter’
President Donald Trump praised National Guard troops for cracking down on the unrest in Minneapolis in the wake of the alleged murder of George Floyd, likening the soldiers’ tactical deployment to “a knife cutting butter” in a roundtable on police reform on Thursday.
Protests in Minneapolis were mostly peaceful but were marred looting, vandalism, and fires over several nights. Trump called the National Guard’s deployment to the city a “beautiful scene,” but admitted, “yes, there was some tear gas and probably some other things” involved in the military troops’ retaking of control of the streets.
“It was like a miracle, everything stopped,” Trump said. “I will never forget the beautiful scene — it’s not supposed to be a beautiful scene, but to me it was. You watch police running out of the police precinct and it wasn’t their fault, they weren’t allowed to do what they were trained to do. [Protesters] took over the precinct. They burned it down essentially.”
“They went in and it was like a knife cutting butter,” Trump said of the National Guard, reveling in what he deemed a swift restoration of order. “You saw the scene on that road where ever that may be in the city, they lined up and walked straight … it was a short evening and everything was fine.”
Trump continued to attack vandals and violent protesters while pushing his “law and order” agenda at a public meeting convened to discuss reforming police. “If something’s really bad,” Trump said. “You have to do it with real strength, real power.”
“We’re dominating the street with compassion because we are saving lives,” Trump claimed. “We’ve saving lives, we’re saving businesses, we’re saving families who are working hard.”
Watch above, via Fox News.
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