Winston Churchill once noted, “Never let a good crisis go to waste.” President Donald Trump is facing one now, as at least 30 US cities have erupted in violent protests over the death of Minneapolis man George Floyd while in police custody.
Today, Trump’s tweetstorm was taking advantage of that crisis to point a finger at his Democratic opponents.
So far, Trump has veered in several directions in his messaging. He has voiced the expected sympathy for George Floyd and called for calm. He has also indicated that “when the looting starts, the shooting starts” and waxed rhapsodic over the possibilities of vicious dogs attacking those who might have breached the White House lawn in Washington, DC protests.
Today’s early tweetstorm focused on the National Guard, which has been turned out in Minnesota, Los Angeles and several other cities. The Commander-in-Tweet used that success to underline the initially weak response by local officials to the uprisings, and to suggest that Democratic-run cities and states should emulate those tactics.
We will have more communications as they roll in. The tweetstorm so far:
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