President Trump was rushed to the White House’s underground bunker as the first night of George Floyd protests in Washington escalated.
The president spent a little under an hour in the bunker, which had been previously used during terrorist attacks, after hundreds of protesters gathered outside of the White House on Friday night, according to an administration official. Some threw bricks and bottles while others shouted curses at Trump, causing Secret Security agents to grow nervous.
It is not clear what exactly led the Secret Service to rush Trump to the Presidential Emergency Operations Center. Officials told the New York Post that the first family was never in true danger, but the demonstrations that have turned violent for the past two nights left them rattled.
First lady Melania Trump opted not to travel to Florida to attend the SpaceX rocket launch Saturday over anxiety about the protests. While Trump launched threats to unleash “vicious dogs” and “ominous weapons” at protesters Saturday morning, he returned from Florida to the White House later to find another round of demonstrations outside.
After a second night of clashes between protesters and police wearing riot gear, Trump laid low on Sunday, spending the day out of sight while sending out a string of messages about the protests via Twitter.
In addition to Washington, major cities across the United States have been home to demonstrations against police brutality following the death of Floyd, an unarmed black man, in police custody last week. Businesses have been looted and property damaged after some of the protests turned violent. In response, 5,000 National Guard troops were activated to help control the unrest in 15 states and Washington.
