Watch: D.C. Mayor Accuses Trump of Fanning Flames of Racism

“It was here that John Lewis and Dr. King spoke on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. It was here that millions of women and men flooded the streets for the Women’s March,” she said, also highlighting the protesters, many of whom were violent, who gathered in the nation’s capital over the summer. She expressed horror that President Trump walked to St. John’s Church and held up a Bible — a symbolic action he took after those “peaceful protests” set the church ablaze.

“But while we were peacefully protesting, Donald Trump was plotting. He stood in front of one of our most treasured houses of worship and held a Bible for a photo op,” Bowser said.  “He sent troops in camouflage into our streets. He sent tear gas into the air—federal helicopters, too.”

“I knew if he did this to D.C., he would do it to your city or your town, and that’s when I said enough,” she said, bringing up her daughter:

I have a two-year-old daughter, and I want her to grow up in an America where she’s not afraid to walk to the store. An America where she’s safe behind the doors of her own home. An America where the president doesn’t fan the flames of racism and looks out for all of us. So I created Black Lives Matter Plaza right behind me as a place where we can come together to say “enough.”

“We have to undo the laws and systems that have codified racism for far too long. But we have to do something too. Each and every one of us. Challenge our own biases,” she continued.

“If we see something, do something. Together, we can turn this reckoning into a reimagining of a nation where ‘We The People’ means all the people,” she added, ending her speech by introducing George Floyd’s family, who held a moment of silence.