President Donald Trump defended supporters of his “Make America Great Again” political movement on Saturday while speaking to reporters at the White House.
One reporter asked the president if he was “stoking more racial violence” by suggesting that his supporters rally at the White House.
But Trump disputed the reporter’s characterization of his supporters.
“MAGA says Make America Great Again,” he said. “By the way, they love African American people. They love black people. MAGA loves the black people.”
The president said he is unsure if his supporters will rally at the White House on Saturday night but that he had heard they would.
“I heard that MAGA wanted to be there. A lot of MAGA was going to be there. I have no idea whether that’s true or not,” he said. “But they love our country.”
When a reporter asked if he wanted a counter-protest at the White House, Trump replied, “No I don’t want…I don’t care.
On Friday night, angry protesters stormed crowd control barricades manned by the Secret Service at the White House.
Trump repeatedly thanked the Secret Service for defending the White House.
“They were so professional last night. It was incredible. They were so professional. They were really great,” Trump said.