House Speaker Nancy Pelosi asked “What is this: a Banana Republic?’ Wednesday after President Donald Trump delivered a defiant law and order speech in a Monday news conference.
Speaking of Trump’s words in Lafayette Square where he promised to shut down riots and looting that have marred and sometimes dominated peaceful protests, Pelosi told MSBNC’s “Morning Joe” that Trump sent the wrong message to Americans.
Pelosi suggested that security forces were “using clubs to beat people and these explosive little bullets that explode into stuff that burns your eyes.”
“Maybe they didn’t have tear gas, I don’t know but they had the elements of it for peaceful demonstrators to make way — make way — for the president to walk through. What is this? A Banana Republic?”
Trump was responding to riots that have erupted across America over the killing of George Floyd after his arrest by Minnesota police. He promised to use the United States military to restore order if local mayor and state governors would not do so.
Derek Chauvin, the former officer seen in a video with his knee on Floyd’s neck, was arrested and charged with third degree murder and manslaughter Friday. (RELATED: Owner Of Gutted Minneapolis Shopping Center Tells Governor And Mayor: ‘People Will Uprise Over This’)
Pelosi also criticized Trump for standing in front of St. John’s Church and holding a Bible
“Well it shows the contradiction and the inconsistency. If you’re going to hold up a Bible and stand in front of a church your message should be consistent with that Bible and those values — and of course it was not,” Pelosi insisted, noting that the pope has supported peaceful protest and that the Archbishop of Washington D.C. had said he was “flabbergasted” that a church would become part of Trump’s news conference.
“America’s heart is full of love … We have to act upon our values and what happened the other night was an exploitation of the good feelings of the American people who associate themselves with the Bible and with the church but not in any way in terms of his actions,” Pelosi said. (RELATED: Seattle Councilmember Says She Can’t Figure Out Why ‘Looting Bothers People’ When People Are ‘Dying Every Day)
A police officer stands watch as a looted pawn shop burns behind them on May 28, 2020 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)
But most Americans are behind Trump when he says he will allow United States military forces to “supplement” police forces as they restore order.
Fifty-eight percent of registered voters of the Morning Consult poll indicated they would the military being used in this manner, with 33% of those surveyed saying they “strongly support” the idea.