The White House on Wednesday said that President Trump’s decision to “surge” law enforcement and the National Guard into the nation’s capital saved the city from destruction from rioters.
“Weak-kneed” officials in New York City failed to protect their own city, said White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany.
“New York was arresting people on burglary charges and then releasing 500 individuals after they had arrested them,” McEnany said. “So the weak-kneed policies of New York stand in stark contrast to the law-and-order policies of this president that has succeeded in securing this city.”
McEnany said Trump rejected the “unacceptable” leadership of Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser, whose 11 p.m. curfew on Sunday night allowed widespread “chaos” across the city. Rioters set the historic St. John’s Episcopal Church near the White House on fire and defaced memorials and monuments along the National Mall.
She said the president “has always preferred devolving to the states, they have the police power, it’s their responsibility to protect the streets.”
“But when the president saw that on Sunday night, he took action immediately,” McEnany said. “He surged the National Guard. … His swift action made D.C. a much different story Monday night.”
“New York acted in a way that was inappropriate,” McEnany said. “They didn’t deploy the National Guard, they set an 11 p.m. curfew even after they saw the disastrous results.”
D.C. officials changed the curfew to 7 p.m. after the chaos on Sunday, and New York City changed its to 8 p.m.
The Lincoln Memorial, honoring the president who issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, was defaced over the weekend, with vandals spray-painting “Yall not tired yet?” beside the entrance steps.
At Lincoln Memorial. @wusa9 #GeorgeFloydProtests pic.twitter.com/1Kfr0wDFZz
— Tom Dempsey (@DempseyReports) May 31, 2020
But on Tuesday night, dozens of National Guardsmen and federal police officers in bullet-proof vests lined the steps atop Memorial, facing off with a large gathering of protesters.
Trump on Monday activated all members of the D.C. National Guard to protect memorials and monuments in America’s capital, as well as to stem further violence from protesters and looters.
“I am taking immediate presidential action to stop the violence and restore security and safety in America,” Trump said in a White House Rose Garden speech. “I am mobilizing all available federal resources — civilian and military — to stop the rioting and looting, to end the destruction and arson, and to protect the rights of law-abiding Americans, including your Second Amendment rights.”
“I am also taking swift and decisive action to protect our great capital, Washington, D.C.,” he continued. “What happened in this city last night was a total disgrace. As we speak, I am dispatching thousands and thousands of heavily armed soldiers, military personnel, and law enforcement officers to stop the rioting, looting, vandalism, assaults, and the wanton destruction of property.”
