President Donald Trump used his Twitter platform late Thursday to condemn those contributing to the looting, fires and violence in Minnesota after the death of George Floyd, who reportedly died under the knee of a police officer Monday. His comments, seemed to suggest that looters would be shot, but he has explained what he meant after Twitter flagged his tweets.
Referring to the looters as “thugs,” the president opined that the violent protests were dishonoring the memory of Floyd, a 46-year-old bouncer and Houston native. In his tweet, Trump denounced the leadership in Minnesota and warned that Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey should “get his act together.”
He also added that he has consulted with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz about enlisting the National Guard to quell the rioting.
“Just spoke to Governor Tim Walz and told him that the Military is with him all the way. Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts. Thank you!”
Friday afternoon, the president clarified the meaning of his statement. He said he intended to imply that looting leads to violence.
“Looting leads to shooting, and that’s why a man was shot and killed in Minneapolis on Wednesday night - or look at what just happened in Louisville with 7 people shot. I don’t want this to happen, and that’s what the expression put out last night means....”
Whatever the intention, Trump’s tweet was flagged by Twitter due to the last line about “shooting,” which Twitter said in a statement breaks the social media platform’s rules about “glorifying violence.”
Twitter further explained its stance in a tweet from its Twitter Communications page.
“This Tweet violates our policies regarding the glorification of violence based on the historical context of the last line, its connection to violence, and the risk it could inspire similar actions today.”
Pop singer Taylor Swift responded to Trump’s comments Friday morning, describing his thoughts as “stoking the fires of white supremacy.”
The tweet had been shared nearly 80,000 times within an hour Friday. Though many supported Swift, some of her fans condemned her for making the statements.
The messages regarding Trump’s sentiments late Thursday and early Friday are bound to fuel more conflict between the president and the ubiquitous social media platform.
In a seemingly direct accost to Twitter, Trump challenged all social media companies Thursday by signing an executive order that challenges the liability protections around freedom of speech on the sites. Twitter recently “fact checked” the president’s tweets and warned that he may be dispersing misinformation with some of his public thoughts.
»MORE: Who was George Floyd?
Trump fired back that the checks were merely attempting to editorialize political activism.
“We’re fed up with it,” Trump said, claiming the order would uphold freedom of speech.
Violence continues after calls for National Guard
As the president and the platform battle it out, unrest and violence continued Friday in Minneapolis and cities across the country. On Friday morning, the Minnesota State Patrol arrested a CNN television crew as it reported on the unrest in Minneapolis. While live on air, CNN reporter Omar Jimenez was handcuffed and led away.
Prior to the comments about looters, Trump expressed his shock about Floyd’s death.
“I feel very, very badly,” Trump said Thursday of Floyd’s death while he was handcuffed and in the custody of Minneapolis police. “That’s a very shocking sight.”
»PHOTOS: Days of unrest and protests in Minneapolis
Some took his statements and those of dozens of law enforcement leaders as empty ones because the killings of black people at the hands of police officers continue. The Rev. Al Sharpton noted that Floyd’s death might have been the first police-involved incident with black people that Trump has responded to.
“This is the first race-tinged case that I’ve ever heard him address” as president, said Sharpton, a civil rights activist and Trump critic who has known the president for decades. “So therefore he cannot be upset when people feel that it’s empty words because it is so out of character.”
There has been no additional updates about how Trump’s order will affect social media.
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