President Donald Trump has previously been quick to dish out advice on how to deal with protesters.
But people on Twitter pointed out that Trump now suddenly doesn’t seem so keen on following his own ideas as demonstrations continue nationwide over the death of George Floyd, a Black man who died in Minneapolis last week after a police officer knelt on his neck.
Trump in August 2019 suggested Chinese President Xi Jinping should meet personally with anti-government protesters in Hong Kong. “There would be a happy and enlightened ending,” Trump predicted in one post. “I have no doubt.”
“Personal meeting?” he asked in another post:
Then, at the start of May, Trump urged Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, to “give a little, and put out the fire” with mostly white protesters ― some of them armed ― who entered the Michigan Capitol building to protest stay-at-home orders aimed at slowing the spread of the coronavirus.
The president has struck a markedly different tone during the Floyd demonstrations against racism.
In a telephone call on Monday, he urged governors to “dominate” protesters. He’s also used inflammatory language and suggested protesters should be shot. On Friday, Trump was reportedly rushed to an underground bunker in the White House during nearby demonstrations.
Twitter users pointed out Trump’s hypocrisy: