President Trump reportedly railed against the nation’s governors over their approach to chaotic protests across the country.
During a teleconference on Monday, Trump implored governors to take a more aggressive approach to protests causing the country’s largest cities to be burned, advocating they pass flag-burning legislation, according to CBS News.
“I’m not a believer in flag-burning,” Trump said to the governors. “And I would think that if a state wanted to try to pass a law that you’re not allowed to burn flags, with a certain punishment — a strong punishment — I would think that the United States government would be backing you up all the way.”
Flag burning as a method of protest has been ruled constitutional by the Supreme Court. In 1989, the high court ruled in Texas v. Johnson, by a 5-4 decision, that burning the American flag was protected under the First Amendment to the Constitution. Conservative Justices Antonin Scalia and Anthony Kennedy, both nominated by former President Ronald Reagan, agreed with liberal Justices William Brennan, Thurgood Marshall, and Andrew Blackmun.
“If there is a bedrock principle underlying the First Amendment, it is that the Government may not prohibit the expression of an idea simply because society finds the idea itself offensive or disagreeable,” Brennan wrote for the majority opinion.
Given the Supreme Court’s decision, flag burning as a method of protest can only be prohibited by constitutional amendment.
“You’re making a mistake because you’re making yourselves look like fools,” Trump said to the governors at one point. “And some have done a great job. But a lot of you, it’s not — it’s not a great day for our country.”
“You have to dominate, if you don’t dominate you’re wasting your time. They’re going to run over you. You’re going to look like a bunch of jerks. You have to dominate,” Trump also said.
Trump blamed the violence on the “radical left,” echoing sentiments from Attorney General William Barr, who said on Saturday that “anarchic” and “far-left extremist groups” could potentially be those responsible for the growing violence. Barr also participated in Trump’s call with the governors.
On Sunday, Barr declared that the violence being “instigated and carried out” by “antifa and other similar groups” in connection to nationwide protesting is “domestic terrorism and will be treated accordingly.”
“It’s happened numerous times,” Trump reportedly said of the riots. “And the only time it’s successful is when you’re weak. And most of you are weak,” citing specific carnage and destruction occurring in Los Angeles and Philadelphia.
“If you’re weak and don’t dominate your streets, they’re going to stay with you until you finally do it,” Trump said. “And you don’t want it. Philadelphia, you’d better toughen up. Because what’s going on in Philadelphia, like New York, is terrible. It’s terrible. You’d better toughen — they’ll never leave. I know you want to say, ‘Oh, let’s not call up the Guard, let’s call up 200 people.’ You’ve got a big National Guard out there that’s ready to come in and fight like hell. I tell ya, the best, what they did in Minneapolis was incredible.”
Trump said state authorities should arrest people who provoke violence, calling them “terrorists.”
“You’ve got to arrest these people. You’ve got to arrest these people — and you’ve got to charge them. And you can’t do this deal where they get one week in jail. These are terrorists, these are terrorists, they’re looking to do bad things to our country. They’re antifa and they’re radical left.”
On Sunday, Trump tweeted that the U.S. would be designating the left-wing antifa movement as a terrorist organization. “The United States of America will be designating ANTIFA as a Terrorist Organization,” he announced.
“When they have bricks — you know they come armed with bricks. And they have bricks and rocks, big rocks, and they have other big things, and they throw them. You know, you’re allowed to fight back, folks. You don’t have to have a brick hit you in the face, and you don’t do anything about it. You are allowed to fight back,” the president said.
