As the unrest in Minneapolis in response to a black man being killed in police custody spreads to other cities, President Trump tried to walk a fine line: for law and order in the face of rioting and looting, against the circumstances that led to George Floyd’s death.
Attorney General William Barr announced a federal civil rights investigation into Floyd’s death on Friday, describing the video showing a since-arrested Minneapolis police officer kneeling on the handcuffed man’s neck as he pleaded for his life as “harrowing to watch and deeply disturbing.” Trump requested this action in a statement after Floyd died, saying, “I have asked for this investigation to be expedited and greatly appreciate all of the work done by law enforcement.”
“He was very upset when he saw that video,” White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said of the president on Thursday. “I was on Air Force One. I don’t know if it was the first time he saw it, but he certainly saw it again on Air Force One. He was very upset by it.” She called the incident “egregious, appalling, tragic.”
But as expected, Trump also took a hard line against the rioting and looting that broke out following the Floyd news. That balancing act, and its potential political pitfalls, was illustrated in a Thursday night tweet: “These THUGS are dishonoring the memory of George Floyd, and I won’t let that happen. Just spoke to Governor Tim Walz and told him that the Military is with him all the way. Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts. Thank you!” The post was flagged by Twitter as violating its policy against “glorifying violence.”
Trump did not mention the incident or the Floyd case during a Friday afternoon press conference at which he took no questions, but he opened a White House event on reopening the economy with the following remarks: “I want to express our nation’s deepest condolences and most heartfelt sympathies to the family of George Floyd … we’re determined that justice be served … I understand the hurt. I understand the pain.”
“We also have to make the statement, and it’s very important that we have peaceful protesters and support the rights of peaceful protesters,” he added. “We cannot allow a situation like happened in Minneapolis to descend further into lawless anarchy and chaos.” Trump tweeted that the National Guard was ready to stop the rioting and that Floyd’s death would not be in vain.
“The president can’t be on the side of what’s going on in the streets in Minneapolis, but it’s a tough issue for him,” said a political operative close to the White House. “His comments are going to be carefully parsed.”
Vice President Mike Pence struck a similar chord in his own remarks, absent rhyming looting and shooting. “Our prayers are with the family of George Floyd and our prayers are also with the family of Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia,” he tweeted on Friday. “We have no tolerance for racism in America.” But Pence also invoked law and order, saying, “We condemn violence against property or persons.”
“This is no time for incendiary tweets,” presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden said Friday. He called it a “national crisis,” adding, “We need real leadership.” Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale shot back that Biden “misrepresented” the president’s tweet and that Democrats and the media “see only a political opportunity.”
Politics does come into play, however. Minnesota is a state Trump only narrowly lost in 2016 and would like to carry in November. He has run against “American Carnage,” the kind of lawlessness occurring in major cities right now. But he would also like to make inroads with black voters this year. Trump has positioned himself as tough on crime but also signed into law major criminal justice reforms.
The Democratic bent of Minnesota’s elected officials, as well as the tone of Trump’s tweets (he went after Minneapolis’s “very weak Radical Left Mayor, Jacob Frey,” telling him to “get his act together”), has prevented leaders from presenting a united front. As other cities became engulfed, Trump emerged as a symbol of the protesters’ grievances. “F— Trump” banners were spotted in Washington, D.C., and elsewhere.
Republican Maryland Gov. Spiro Agnew, elected as a civil rights supporter, rode a strong response to 1960s rioting to the ticket with Richard Nixon in 1968. At the same time, being seen as ineffectual or losing control of urban areas in an election year could also be damaging. The White House was on lockdown Friday evening as protesters pushed against the barricades.
Biden faces political risks too. He can’t be seen as insufficiently supportive of the protesters but also can’t be perceived as tolerant of rioting. He is battling Trump for Rust Belt swing voters and senior citizens but also needs to shore up the African American vote. Biden may face additional pressure to consider a person of color as his running mate — and perhaps to rule out Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who declined to prosecute the office at the center of the whole controversy.
One Republican strategist said the unfolding events defied political analysis: “I just think it’s all very sad.”
