Pop star Taylor Swift took to Twitter on Friday to express her dissatisfaction with President Trump calling for the authorities to take control of the situation in Minneapolis.
Swift cited the president's words, "when the looting starts, the shooting starts", and said he will be "voted out" in November.
After stoking the fires of white supremacy and racism your entire presidency, you have the nerve to feign moral superiority before threatening violence? ‘When the looting starts the shooting starts’??? We will vote you out in November. @realdonaldtrump
— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) May 29, 2020
Minneapolis has seen non-stop demonstrations ever since the video of black resident Floyd went viral, causing outrage on social media. The footage shows a police officer pinning Floyd to the ground with his knee and refusing to stop while the man repeatedly tells him he cannot breathe. He died at a local hospital shortly after.
At some point, the protests in Minneapolis went wild, with citizens vandalising and smashing police cars and other municipal property, stealing from businesses, and even committing arson. More than 500 National Guardsmen have been deployed to the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul early on Friday morning to help restore order.
Trump posted a couple of tweets on Friday saying that violent protests disgrace the memory of Floyd and blaming Democratic mayor Jacob Frey for the lack of leadership.
....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!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 29, 2020
On Thursday evening, rioters in Minneapolis set fire to the police precinct where the four arresting officers worked as well as numerous other buildings and businesses.
BREAKING: The third precinct police station is on fire. Rioters have taken over pic.twitter.com/AJg4jDr9Tz
— Max Nesterak (@maxnesterak) May 29, 2020
Local authorities charged former police officer Derek Chauvin with murder and manslaughter in the death of Floyd on Friday. Prior to that, Trump promised that justice would be delivered in George Floyd's case.
