On Saturday, Donald Trump attended the SpaceX launch at Kennedy Space Center. He said bigly, unhinged words about space, rockets, astronauts and, of course, the protests in cities across the country and now across the world. Trump said, in part:
“I understand the pain that people are feeling. We support the right of peaceful protests and we hear their pleas, but what we are now seeing on the streets of our cities has nothing to do with the memory of George Floyd. The violence and vandalism is being led by Antifa and other radical left-wing groups who are terrorizing the innocent, destroying jobs, hurting businesses and burning down buildings. The main victims of this horrible, horrible situation are the citizens who live in these once-lovely communities… The mobs are devastating the life’s work of good people and destroying their dreams. We support the overwhelming majority of police officers who are incredible in every way and devoted to public service.”
“The violence and vandalism is being led by Antifa and other radical left-wing groups…” Yeah, no. There’s quite a bit of evidence that many Black Lives Matter protests are peaceful, and they’re being infiltrated by *other people* who have violent agendas. There’s a ton of video evidence that white folks are doing A LOT of property damage, tagging, arson, what have you. In addition to that, this weekend, it really felt like the cops were the ones violently rioting. It’s this kind of chaotic situation which could use a national address, right? Except no one wants to hear from the white supremacist-in-chief. Good thing too, because he doesn’t wanna do it.
Never in the 1,227 days of Trump’s presidency has the nation seemed to cry out for leadership as it did Sunday, yet Trump made no attempt to provide it. That was by design. Trump and some of his advisers calculated that he should not speak to the nation because he had nothing new to say and had no tangible policy or action to announce yet, according to a senior administration official. Evidently not feeling an urgent motivation Sunday to try to bring people together, he stayed silent.
Trump let his tweets speak for themselves. One attacked the Democratic mayor of Minneapolis; another announced that his administration would designate the antifa movement a terrorist organization; a third accused the media of fomenting hatred and anarchy; and in yet another, he praised himself for the deployment of the National Guard and denigrated former vice president Joe Biden.
Inside Trump’s political circle, advisers have expressed conflicting views about how Trump should demonstrate leadership after the death of a black man, George Floyd, in the custody of a white police officer sparked outrage nationwide. The president, in consultation with some aides, decided not to give a speech Sunday about the violent protests over what many see as systemic racial injustice by law enforcement.
WaPo also says that Trump’s advisors have convinced him to do a “listening tour” in which he’ll sit on his fat ass in a bunker and he’ll refuse to listen to what people are saying. That’s where he was for most of Sunday – in a White House bunker built to ensure the safety of a president during a bombing or chemical attack or worse. And Bigly Baby Fists got scared of some protesters outside and so he had to go to his little bunker.
I’m including some of his unhinged tweets from this weekend below. I’m doing this merely to show how gleeful he is to pour gasoline on the fire.
The United States of America will be designating ANTIFA as a Terrorist Organization.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 31, 2020
LAW & ORDER!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 31, 2020
Get tough Democrat Mayors and Governors. These people are ANARCHISTS. Call in our National Guard NOW. The World is watching and laughing at you and Sleepy Joe. Is this what America wants? NO!!!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 31, 2020
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
My city spent hours yesterday protesting peacefully, United, and then a different crowd moved in last night and ripped my beautiful city apart. This morning, we are heart broken as our downtown is in shambles.
Bunker Boy can resign and get the Hell out of the USA. And take his thieving, fascist spawn with him.
My city was being praised for the peaceful protests and then yesterday there was “intel” that a group was coming to specifically cause problems. I don’t think we reached riot level but there was vandalism and looting. I mean my city is already known for violence and murders, let us have this ONE thing.
Are you in Chicago? Our neighborhood was locked down early last night in anticipation of possible rioters being bussed in. The amount of blame and finger pointing by my fellow white people in a city not exactly known for racial harmony is exhausting.
I’m in Chicago. In Bucktown, almost every shop surrounding me has been looted. My street is lined with plenty of million dollar homes and we’re all bracing ourselves for more of this tonight. Everyone on the ground seeing this shit can distinguish between the protestors (peaceful) and the scores of opportunistic criminals out looting. A lot of the damage is being caused by white people but they’re counting on the fingers being pointed at BLM. Racist bullshit all the way down. Stop letting police murder black people! I’m terrified right now but I support the protests.
My brother saw the entire incident that sparked the riots on Beverly blvd and Fairfax in los angeles. He said the protest was entirely peaceful – cops were on the street applauding the protesters, protesters were fist-bumping the cops. A cop car was peacefully following the protesters when a white dude jumped on the hood of the cop car and started to smash its windows. He threw something in the cop car. Then this white girl threw something that looked like a water bottle in the side window and the car burst into flames. She lit the car on fire! Then backup arrived and a white dude started to attack that car. Mayhem ensued and the cops pulled their guns toward the crowd. One even pulled a gun on my brother and his girlfriend. They just ran back to their place which was a couple blocks away. The thing is that my brother caught the whole thing on video!! I saw it and it was madness. I firmly believe these instigators were not protesters. Whether they were antifa or alt right, I don’t know.
there’s video of 2 white girls spraying ‘BLM’ onto a wall. These women were not protesters they honestly looked like detached individuals doing a job. they had zero adrenaline and looked robotic. When peacefully asked to stop, by actual protesters, they seemed like they were just doing their job. They said nothing. They’re demeanor was not a protester or rioter…..totally of a person paid for a job. It was really obvious!!
talking with people we wondered if they’re purpose was to flip voters for the election. Turning progressive cities to more conservative ones…because the voters got mad at what was happening and blaming the wrong people…
I’m so damn glad you named him Bunker Boy😂, @lightpurple. He is taking the coward’s way out just like his Idol-For-Life SHITLER did when then The Allies Powers conquered and defeated the Axis Powers during WWII. That bastard went in his private bunker with Eva Braun (his whore) and it was said that they committed suicide. (Hopefully, his azz didn’t escape to either South America or a private isle unknown/somewheres, as some conspiracy theorists are and have been speaking about). 🤔
#bunkerboy is now trending on twitter
(and facebook, from what I’ve seen)
Every day that this man is a president of the USA is a disgrace………I know he has supporters but we will try our best to make sure he remains a one term president!
Never would we have known that the office of the US presidency can be degraded and desecrated by someone as crass as he is
Coming from one of the countries that were first to start anti-fascist movements this was a hard thing to swallow. I almost reported his tweet. I get that there are vandals using this name but history should not be twisted like this. He’s so dangerous, basically calling everyone standing up against him a threat. and this weekend and all of the news that came out…. my god, what is happening?
Report his tweets. If he is breaking any Twitter rules, report him. Twitter is under pressure to apply its Terms of Service against him and has finally started to do so. Every report filed against him supports any actions they take against him to shut him down
good to know. will do.
I’m willing to bet Twitter bans him the day he leaves office. But as the president of the United State, as horrific as his tweets are, I think they should stay up. History needs to know what your fool was thinking and doing during this time.
I report him on a consistent basis.
did it! was a good feeling at least. the only problem was – I wanted to add more than one reason.
@lemonylips, you can report for more than one reason. Once you report something, it usually hides the tweet with a message that “You reported this tweet” but if you click on it, it will re-open the tweet for you and you can report it again for another reason.
I reported his tweets, and I got blocked for being a bot.
So now my twitter account ive had for years is gone.
It wont recognize my phone number so i can’t send a code to get it fixed and nothing to my help report
Hate to say bit much like the royal reporters and the Sussex family, those tweets may be giving twitter a lot more relevance and a longer lifespan than it would have had on its own…they won’t kill their golden goose.
I can’t think of an equal platform right now, so I think they would be fine without Trump. Anytime anything big happens, Twitter is the first social media platform to have the info. FB/Instagram/Snapchat are pretty interchangeable, but Twitter is still unique enough in its format to not have competition.
Another day of inaction but only holds onto conspiracy theories in his little brain to put out. I read an article last week, don’t remember the publication, but the administration is encouraging states to decrease the number of COVID infections and deaths to support his reopening. Another attempt at screwing the American public of the truth to his benefit.
I saw speeches of Malcolm X and James Baldwin is crazy that theirs words sadly echo the situation currently. The American do not move forward, I have the impression that the country is locked in a hellish circular cycle which start again eternally and whose victims are still always blacks communities and others minorities with whites who deny that this is not normal.
Cowardly ass trump hunkers down in his bunker just like his idol, Hitler, did before he killed his mistress, his innocent dog, and himself.
And, no need to use the words “trump said, in part”. trump didn’t say or type those words. That statement was generated by someone with a slightly more than third grade education. trump is not capable of stringing a coherent sentence together, much less an entire paragraph.
There were protests/tributes in Mobile yesterday. A very peaceful one in Cathedral Square and one in Mardi Gras Park that was more angry. Violence and destruction were minimal-a police cruiser windshield was broken, a Lowe’s and nearby Walmart were vandalized, shots were fired into the air. Hundreds of marchers tried to block the onramp to Interstate 10 and were teargassed. Very happy so many here are passionate about this.
Ivanka and Miller often tweet on Trump’s account. Ivanka is prone to long-winded blather with a few malapropisms thrown in because she legitimately doesn’t understand words. You can often tell that it is her because she will be tweeting from her own account simultaneously and will toggle between the two accounts. Or if it’s a Friday night or Saturday during the day when she’s pretending to observe Shabbat.
Bunker Boy is now quoting Newt Gingrich on Twitter as his response to the violence that rocked our nation last night. Gingrich the sexist, racist pig who blamed all our problems on poor black women.
The police are setting up the narrative that they’re being infiltrated, but if you watch any of the videos coming from protesters and journalists, it’s pretty clear the police are doing a hefty amount of that escalation themselves. They’ve been brazen enough attacking journalists on camera – a photojournalist in Minneapolis is now permanently blind in her left eye after a tear gas attack.
The biggest joke is that they’ve convinced us this is purely a black issue when in reality, we should all be afraid of what this kind of police state activity means for all of America. Minorities see the disproportionate amount of it, but they won’t stop there. Watch those videos – plenty of white protesters are getting attacked, too. They are not discriminating in who they utilize their force against, which should be a warning that they will come for all of us eventually.
Hands down the scariest part of it has been the deployment of National Guard. Sending paramilitary force is an escalation in itself, but now you have people in place to enforce a martial lockdown heading into the elections. His supporters will definitely feel emboldened to cause their own violence should he get voted out in November. Brace yourselves, guys. This is going to shake out ugly either way.
I sadly fear you are going to be proven correct. No matter the outcome of the election, the US will dissolve into anarchy. Those right wing terrorist groups will be emboldened.
Goodbye America (for 100 years or so, it has the potential to come back).
“it’s pretty clear the police are doing a hefty amount of that escalation themselves. They’ve been brazen enough attacking journalists on camera – a photojournalist in Minneapolis is now permanently blind in her left eye after a tear gas attack.”
and driving through crowds of protesters, too.
as one of my fb friends asked, “who exactly are they ‘serving and protecting’?” clearly NOT the people for whom they are sworn to do so.
Peaceful protesters need to leave that protest if they see acts of violence or destruction. Did you know throughout history, while this is of course not ALWAYS the case, the facts is peaceful protests are 4 times more likely to succeed in revolutionary change than violent ones. MLK had it right. Sadly white supremacists saw the change coming with his leadership and so he was assassinated.
i’m not sure where you got your numbers but I highly doubt that “peaceful protests are 4 times more likely to succeed in revolutionary change than violent ones”. Even the wording is contradictory – a revolution is always an act of massive effort against a ruling class, and rulers never give up power because people ask nicely.
There are plenty of reports that white people are inciting violence and looting, as linked in the article (thanks for linking those, CB!). Let’s stay focused on the issue – police brutality and systemic racism.
My college daughter did a whole paper on this last year and discussed it with me while she was writing it. It was quite interesting. She is a writing major but loves history so she takes extra history classes just because she enjoys them so much. Peaceful protests that remain consistent and take place over long periods of time are more effective in general (of course there are always exceptions to the rule but the odds are in your favor w/ peaceful protests). That’s what the studies/history show. Those aren’t hunches, they are facts. And peaceful protests are not “asking nicely”. One can be quite aggressive with a message but not burn cars and loot businesses. And if whites are doing the destruction, all the more reason for peaceful protesters to go home so the ones destroying are exposed. Want to stay focused on the issue? Promote peaceful protests. Protest frequently. And keep them coming week after week, month after month, year after year. And change will come.
Kind of hard to expect protests to stay peaceful when police are firing tear gas and rubber bullets unprovoked, driving their cars into the crowds, beating people with batons, pepper spraying people right left, arresting and attacking journalists on live television, and in general behaving like the militant arm of a corrupt state. Violence that we didn’t see at all used against MAGA protesters a month ago when they descended onto state capitals with loaded guns.
This isn’t a progressive movement trying to get healthcare reform or some other nonsense. This is the violent spasm of a country descending into a fascist police state. You want some historical basis for this, look to 1930s Germany, not to civil rights movements.
Colin Kaepernick protested peacefully.
where’d that get him?
the time for protesting “peacefully” is over. if I watched yet ANOTHER one of my brothers killed by a racist cop on video, and had to wait days for him to be arrested, and only done so because of public outcry, and watch his accomplices go free (for now, anyway)…and know this is a “rinse and repeat” scenario that has played out for literally centuries (the general – read “WHITE” – public only now becoming aware of it because of the proliferation of cell phone cameras)…I might be out there causing destruction, too. this response you’re seeing is from DECADES of abuse/oppression.
I read a post on fb someone had shared. this is not verbatim, but look at it this way. maybe this will help you relate better. suppose the video of that black man who was killed was video of a woman being sexually assaulted. it was on video, the rapist clearly identifiable. and the rapist wasn’t arrested right away. and was only arrested because of public outcry. and the other three rapists who held the woman down and stood by and watched got to go free. and imagine further (because this is the truth) that this kind of crime happened ALL THE TIME, sometimes on video, with witnesses, and yet in almost every case, the rapist went free. if a crowd of women went out and burned up a cop car, I wouldn’t be all “well, they should burn anything” NO. F*CK THAT. I’d be wanting to address WHY they felt that was their only avenue left to bring attention to their cause and how serious an issue it was.
THAT’S how these people are feeling. quiet, peaceful protests haven’t gotten them anywhere or anything except “thoughts and prayers”.
Let’s not muddy the waters by only presenting some of the destructive acts. Yes if only police stations and cop cars were burned it would represent the anger. But in my neighborhood, a liquor store and corner stores were looted, essentially destroyed. I can understand why people are doing it, how anger overrides all, but I am just stating why a clear thinking strategy based on facts and history would be more effective. The problem with protests is that they fizzle out, or there aren’t enough of us banding together. Protests peacefully. Protest weekly. Protest in mass. I am with the cause. But I personally won’t be protesting when shit starts getting lit on fire and stores start getting looted. Give me a peaceful protest and I’m there.
peaceful, ongoing protests work…until they don’t.
which is where we are now. people have been protesting for DECADES against the unlawful murder of black folk at the hands of police. where’s it got us? black folk are STILL being murdered at the hands of police.
when one side has all the power, and utilizes that power to keep the other side “down”, and utilizes that power to protect only the rich and the corporations…you can only protest peacefully for so long. there comes a time when all of that peaceful protesting that only leads to more heads being bashed and more of your brothers and sisters being detained, beaten and/or killed FOR NO REASON other than “being black”…there comes a time when you have to fight back.
Agree. I studied Peace and Conflict Studies and did a course on civil rights movements. I strongly believe peaceful protest is the way to go. If police use violence against peaceful demonstrators it will expose their cruelty further and they risk losing any remaining public support. When protesters retaliate, violence can be justified (not saying it’s right) or overshadow the movement itself like we’re seeing on the news. Some of the people who are rioting are undermining this, maybe even purposefully.
I agree with those who aware and support peaceful protest. We have on news film in LA County those many who were peaceful and those who destroyed CHP, police vehicles and set them on fire. Marching on major freeways is not peaceful, it is a disruption in the lives of others. One of the issues noted is the police were so overwhelmed in an attempt at peace keeping, looters arrived in bands of cars 20-25, looted businesses, setting them on fire. I had LA County cable news on until 12:45 am Saturday. Film crews filmed this behavior for hours, some as they could captured license plate numbers. Watching a news segment at the moment with protestors with signs, “End All Violence,” blocking looters.
Opportunistic looting is one thing and an issue, but, uh, to be perfectly blunt, as somebody who did unionization and civil justice campaigns for several years in my twenties – they’re blocking that highway on purpose. That’s the point. It’s civil disruption. It forces the society to stop turning a blind eye. It removes the privilege of it being something that doesn’t affect your life. You can dislike it all you want, but it is absolutely intentional and in many cases, it can and does work because now it can’t be ignored.
I agree Veronica about blocking a highway. And also about opportunistic looting being something different.
Pandemic, tens of thousands dead or dying, millions unemployed and filing for assistance, erratic stock market, businesses shutting their doors forever, restaurants that have long histories in their communities are closing, racial violence coming from those tasked with our protection, civil unrest, protests and riots, cities are burning, OUR COUNTRY IS ON FIRE…..
Let’s tweet vomit about lamestream media and bigly bad Democrats. The evil left. Let’s do that. And shame on anyone trying to vote from home. Such monsters.
Once America lost the ability to conduct fair elections things were looking pretty grim.
Hang on a minute there. Elections are fair. The actual voting part you mean? Yeah, that’s fair. The gerrymandering & voter suppression part needs to be fixed, but if you mean the machines or the paper ballots or the mail-in ballots, those are fair. Throughout history? Not fair; not everyone had the right to vote–women, African-Americans, Native Americans. I remember reading an LBJ biography in which ballot boxes were literally stolen, and at several other time periods in major cities as well as small towns criminal acts surrounding the actual voting process happened. Your comment doesn’t make much sense. It seems to accept the current re-Thug propaganda.
The machines are fair?! Thousands of people, all over the country, have reported the machines changing their votes. From D to R. Not the other way around. The machines can be, and are being, hacked. That’s cheating, and is not a fair election. R’s know they lose elections because they are the minority. So they lie, cheat, hack, steal, whatever it takes to stay in power. The OP is correct. Our elections haven’t been fair since at least 2004.
154 days until the election. VOTE.
If this monster is somehow re-elected after his crimes and epic failures to do anything of any good for this country, I am seriously going to look into becoming a Canadian citizen.
Look into it *now.* I’m not joking. Everybody here should be considering what their emergency plan is going to be for November if shit really hits the fan. Are you going to hunker down and try to ride this out? Are you an at risk population that you feel you need to get out of the country? Decide now, start planning.
Getting out of America is not a simple process. One of the easiest methods is by applying to schools for a student visa, but those are time sensitive, and you will need to have a plan in place for what happens when you graduate. If you have a valued skill profession, consider a work visa. I would recommend having a place in mind and getting some converted currency on hand if possible. Make sure your passport and other data is up to date. (I actually need to renew mine, now that I think about it.) If the absolute worst happens, make sure you have a large amount of money set aside to pool as needed if you need to get out in an emergency situation as on a flight or crossing a border.
If you’re riding it out here, be prepared for what may happen in a police state. Scrub your Internet presence. Delete social media accounts. Cull your friends groups. You’re going to need to start stocking up on supplies and keeping a rotating inventory. Keep a bug bag around. Have cash on hand if something requires you to flee. Do you have a gun? If not, consider getting one. Are you trained to use it properly? Take classes. Get a license. Learn how to use it. Decide when and if is a situation you would use it lethally. Do you have children? Do you have pets? Are you on any medication that you would need at least a month or two supply ahead in case of a shortage? These are all things you need to consider.
Not to sound paranoid guys, but I am paranoid. I don’t think this is going to shake out easy for any of us. Better to stop telling yourself your crazy and just embrace the reality that the worst can happen and be prepared.
You’re scaring me. And I was already scared because I have already been thinking about what happens if Trump wins and we go from Oligarchy to full-on fascist dictatorship. Its already happening before our eyes. Police-state martial law are occurring. It may already be too late to get out. I get the idea of scrubbing our online activity, but let’s face it. All of us that comment here on CB are probably already on a list somewhere of “political dissidents.” Off to drink some wine to calm my nerves.
Antifa is not a group. Idiot.
Hi Donald! I’m part of “the world”. Actually we are watching at you… In horror. We are not laughing : you are too unhinged and pathetic.
I was watching the protest on the news last night, they were peaceful until around 9 in Boston. The antagonist who started Turing things violent looked to be white and younger as well. My heart was breaking watching it all go down.
Near where I live the city was lost to looters once nightfall came. Lots of personal videos posted to youtube by those living in the neighborhood. The riots were in a predominantly black neighborhood. The looters were predominantly black. The looter’s races seemed to represent the population that lives in that neighborhood.
U.S.A. needs to change it’s name…nothing UNITED about it. Also, those protests were peaceful until the cops showed up and made it not peaceful anymore. Lastly, look at video footage, it’s losers who don’t care about BLM just showing up and taking advantage of the situation by robbing and looting. It’s mostly young White people doing it from what I have seen.
I went to protests Saturday and Sunday in Seattle, WA. On both days POC were pleading with overwhelming, white young men to NOT loot, or damage property. The police car fires were started by white people. The energy was calm from most with a small group very intentionally spewing hate and aggression. The group with the loudest voices and most inflammatory messages were white young men. Our offices and Nat Guard were entitled, angry. Hid badge numbers and turned off body cams.
The time is always right to do what is right. In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies but the silence of our friends. MLK