While no one condones the officer’s behavior and those who are protesting peacefully deserve to have their voices heard, there is an even louder and angrier subset of people who are taking advantage of the unrest to try to destabilize the country and cause chaos by whatever means possible.
Last Tuesday, Trump tweeted “NYC, CALL UP THE NATIONAL GUARD. The lowlifes and losers are ripping you apart. Act fast!”
After a particularly bad looting spree in New York City, he tweeted: “Macy’s at 34th. Street, long the largest single department store anywhere in the world, & a point of pride in NYC, was devastated yesterday when hoodlums and thieves vandalized it, breaking almost all of its large panels of storefront glass. What a shame. Bring in National Guard!”
But this is about far more than a department store having its windows broken. It’s about violence that is escalating every day and leaving people dead in its wake – people who had nothing to do with the original incident that set off the violence. And that’s why it’s clear that we are dealing with something far, far darker than people who are angry about a white cop killing a black man.
Although Mayor Bill de Blasio has already said the National Guard’s presence would only add fuel to the fire, the NYPD has not been able to keep the rioting from spreading. In Herald Square, videos showed hundreds of looters going into the Macy's store on 34th street despite its windows being boarded up, while the Urban Outfitters at 35th Street and Broadway had its windows smashed and clothing cleared out by looters. The Nintendo store at Rockefeller Center, a Midtown Microsoft store and a slew of Times Square retail shops were ransacked.
An 11:00pm curfew in New York City did little stop the night of destruction, and the President called for it to be moved forward to 7:00pm.
Former NYC Police Commissioner says NYPD officers are under assault, exhausted
On Thursday, former NYC Police Commissioner Ray Kelly told Fox News’ Sean Hannity that although he didn’t initially believe the National Guard was necessary, given the 38,000-officer-strong NYPD force, he now thinks they may indeed be needed if the situation doesn’t improve. He said officers are being “assaulted in every possible way” and are exhausted from extended shifts.
It’s a message the President reiterated in an address at the White House, where he encouraged states to deploy the National Guard to help with protests getting out of hand throughout the nation. He praised them for the good work they do, mentioning how successful they were in Minnesota. Trump told governors not to be proud and to “get the job done,” telling them they need to dominate the streets and not just let this type of behavior continue.
Nearly half of the country has already activated the National Guard. As of June 2, at least 23 states and the District of Columbia had activated the guard. Some of the states include California, Texas, Arizona, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Florida, Minnesota, Michigan and Illinois. All told, more than 17,000 members of the National Guard are prepared to support local police, a number that is roughly equal to the active duty troops that are deployed in Afghanistan, Iran and Syria.
In addition, around 45,000 further National Guard members are on hand to support the coronavirus response in the country.
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