Trump repeatedly claimed that his supporters were peaceful as he blamed Democrats for violence in cities that he is encouraging.
Trump said, “I understand there were a large number of people that were supporters but that was a peaceful protest. Paint is not — paint is a defensive mechanism. Paint is not bullets. Your supporters — your supporters — and they are your supporters indeed, shot a young gentleman who — and killed him, not with paint, but with a bullet, and I think it’s disgraceful. These people, they protested peacefully. They went in very peacefully. And I’ll tell you what they’re protesting. They’re protesting when they turn on the television or read whatever they may be reading and they see a city like Chicago, where 78 people were shot and 13 died, or a city like New York where the crime rate has gone through the roof or a city like Portland, where the entire city is ablaze all the time, and a mayor says we don’t want help from the federal government, when these people turn that on and they see that, they say this is not our country. This is not our country. That was a peaceful protest totally.”
Video:
Trump claims that the caravans of his violent supporters were peaceful. pic.twitter.com/vp6Js1lKnn
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— Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) August 31, 2020
When Trump was asked to denounce his supporters shooting people, he blamed Democrats:
Trump refuses to denounce his armed supporters shooting people and instead blames Democrats. pic.twitter.com/LKiyR94EHD
— Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) August 31, 2020
The press conference was a disaster, as Trump dropped the law and order facade and went full-blown race war. Trump gave the green light to his violent white supporters while trying to blame Democrats for the problems in the cities that he is encouraging.
Trump is losing to he has abandoned dog whistles for bullhorns, and he isn’t even trying to fool anybody into believing that he is doing anything else besides trying to racially divide the country with violence.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
