Trump on deploying National Guard in NY: De Blasio better get act together or I'll solve the problem
President Trump reacts to New York Mayor Bill De Blasio saying the National Guard is not trained to handle unrest in New York City
President Trump criticized New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s refusal to send in the National Guard to address the rioting in the city, telling “The Brian Kilmeade Show” on Wednesday that “liberal” mayors are “having a lot of trouble” with the violent demonstrations.
Host Brian Kilmeade asked Trump if he agrees with de Blasio’s statement on Tuesday that the National Guard is not trained to help police quell violence.
“No, not at all,” Trump said in response.
“You look at what happened in Minnesota, they were getting decimated and then after three days of watching it I demanded that the National Guard be utilized and in one day it was over.
“In fact, they got there at a certain time in the late afternoon and by the time they finished it was, I always say somewhat sarcastically, but the safest place on earth and Minnesota was really having a hard time and we took care of it,” he continued.
On Saturday, five days after the death of George Floyd while in Minneapolis police custody, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who has been hammered by residents, critics and the press for his response to the crisis in his state, announced he had authorized "full mobilization" of the state's National Guard.
“The governor is a nice man, but he was not using enough,” Trump said. “You saw the police were running in Minneapolis and they were running away from their precinct, which is something I’ve never seen before.”
Trump noted “You have a liberal mayor [in Minneapolis] that frankly was having a lot of trouble and you have a very liberal mayor in New York [City] too and you notice that all of these places that have problems are not run by Republicans, they are run by liberal Democrats, so there is something into that philosophy.”
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On Tuesday, de Blasio announced that the city’s 8 p.m. curfew will be extended through the end of the week following yet another night of looting, destruction and “vicious attacks on police officers.”
The Democrat's administration so far has failed to stop roving bands of looters from ransacking everything from chain stores to mom-and-pop businesses in recent days.
“We are going to ensure there are additional NYPD resources where they are needed,” de Blasio told reporters Tuesday while announcing the curfew extension.
When de Blasio was asked by a reporter if he intends to call in the National Guard for help – as many governors across the U.S. have done in hopes of quelling rioting linked to George Floyd demonstrations – he poured cold water on the idea.
Trump told Kilmeade on Wednesday that the National Guard “can solve that problem in New York and in fact, if they don’t get their act straightened out, I will solve it. I’ll solve it fast.”
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On Monday, Trump said that he is taking "immediate action” to mobilize “all available federal resources” to stop riots and looting across the country, threatening to deploy the military if states don’t send in the National Guard to protests.
Fox News’ Joshua Nelson and Morgan Phillips contributed to this report.