New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said he was “shocked” to see authorities clear protesters from areas around the White House so President Trump “could have a photo-op.”
Cuomo made the remarks on Monday after Trump’s Rose Garden address to the country about the ongoing protests and riots over George Floyd’s death. Prior to the speech, what appeared to be an assorted mix of law enforcement fired smoke canisters and pepper balls to disperse a crowd of protesters who had gathered.
“What the president today did was he called out the American military against American citizens,” Cuomo said on CNN. “That’s what they did. They used the American military to push back a peaceful protest, which everyone watched on TV, just so he could have a photo-op of walking to a church. When was the last time you saw the American military called out against Americans?”
“Is that making America great? I don’t think so,” he added.
After delivering his speech, Trump walked to the historic St. John’s Episcopal Church, which has been the site of some damage from the demonstrations rocking the nation’s capital. He stood in front of the church with other administration officials and held up a Bible. Cuomo said the walk was merely done for the photo opportunity it provided.
“I’ve seen a lot of things, but I was shocked at what they did,” Cuomo said. “I was shocked at the force they used to move the protesters who could not have been more peaceful, and from their signs, they were all there to make the legitimate point about the killing of Mr. Floyd. And it was just for a photo opportunity. I mean, it is amazing. Calling out the American military for a photo opportunity. That’s what it was. I mean, it was shameful. It was really, truly shameful.”
Earlier in the interview, the governor addressed the violence that has come with some of the protests. He said the destructive elements of the protests are “the small minority in what’s going on,” adding that “from a law enforcement point of view, you need to weed them out, but they are intermingled with protesters.”
The demonstrations began last week after Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, died after white Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin dug his knee into Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes during an arrest. Floyd begged for his life in a video that emerged from the incident. Chauvin was fired by the department and later arrested and charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter.
