President Donald Trump criticized Minnesota Democrats at the White House on Saturday for failing to stop the looting and rioting in Minneapolis, offering them military support if necessary.
“They’ve got to be tough. They’ve got to be smart,” Trump said. “We have our military ready and willing and able if they ever want to call the military, we can have troops on the ground very quickly if they ever want our military.”
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) said that he would deploy the full National Guard in the state on Saturday to protect against violence and property destruction.
Trump said that Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey (D) was “radical left” and expressed shock that he allowed the police station to be abandoned and overrun by violent protesters.
“I’ve never seen anything so horribly stupid in my life. I’ve never seen anything so bad,” Trump said.
The president spoke to reporters as he left the White House on Saturday to view the launch of the NASA/SpaceX manned space flight.
Trump urged Minnesota officials to deploy more force to prevent the destruction of their city by organizations like Antifa and the radical left.
“They’ve gotta get tougher. They’ve got to be strong,” he said. “Honor the memory of George Floyd.”
Earlier Saturday, Trump suggested on Twitter that his supporters would rally at the White House, prompting reporters to ask the president if he was “stoking more racial violence.”
But Trump defended his supporters.
“MAGA says Make America Great Again. By the way, they love African American people. They love black people. MAGA loves the black people,” he said.
The president said he was unsure whether his supporters would rally at the White House on Saturday night.
“I have no idea if that’s true or not, but they love our country,” he said.
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