Trump praises 'S.S.' for 'very easily' dealing with protesters in DC
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President Donald Trump on Thursday praised the National Guard, the US Park Police, and what he described as the "S.S." for the way they handled protests in Washington, DC, last week against police brutality following the Memorial Day death of George Floyd.
Floyd's fatal May 25 arrest, in which a white Minneapolis police officer was recorded kneeling on his neck for several minutes while Floyd said he couldn't breathe, prompted protests around the world.
"Our great National Guard Troops who took care of the area around the White House could hardly believe how easy it was," the president tweeted. "'A walk in the park', one said. The protesters, agitators, anarchists (ANTIFA), and others, were handled VERY easily by the Guard, D.C. Police, & S.S. GREAT JOB!"The
Trump's tweet on Thursday came on the heels of a New York Times report that described the aggressive tactics used by the National Guard against mostly peaceful protesters in the US capital last week and how the Guard's response to the civil unrest surrounding Floyd's death had cratered morale among the troops, particularly men and women of color.
"Typically, as the DC National Guard, we are viewed as the heroes," First Lt. Malik Jenkins-Bey, 42, who was the acting commander of the 273rd Military Police Company during the first days of the protests, told The Times. But last week was different, he said."It's a very tough conversation to have when a soldier turns to me and they're saying, 'Hey sir, you know my cousin was up there yelling at me, that was my neighbor, my best friend from high school,'" Jenkins-Bey, who is African American, said.
The District of Columbia National Guard has faced sharp criticism for its tactics in quelling the protests, which included using pepper spray and rubber bullets to dispel peaceful demonstrations and deploying helicopters to fly low over protesters, sending them running for cover as the blast from rotor blades skimmed buildings.
Trump and his Republican allies, meanwhile, have painted the protests as being part of a widespread and coordinated effort by the far-left group antifa to sow discord and stoke violence related to the demonstrations.While there have been instances of rioting and looting during the protests, a closer examination of court records, media reports, and social-media activity shows little evidence of an organized effort by antifa to infiltrate the demonstrations.
Copyright © 2021. Times Internet Limited. All rights reserved.For reprint rights. Times Syndication Service.
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