On July 31, President Donald Trump held a round table with the National Association of Police Organizations Leadership as protests of police brutality against Black Americans continued across the country.
Similar to his recent statements on protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin and Portland, Oregon, the President generalized protesters as violent anarchists who were determined to assault police officers.
Trump warned of Molotov cocktails and frozen bottles of water being hurled at police. He then said that cans of soup were weaponized, adding quickly that "bags of soup" were used as well.
Watch below.
Trump in July: And you have people coming over with bags of soup and the anarchists... start throwing it at our cops... And if it hits you, that's worse than a brick because that's got force... And when they get caught, they say, “No, this is just soup for my family." pic.twitter.com/xs9tcY9aA5
— Acyn Torabi (@Acyn) September 1, 2020
Trump said:
"And you have people coming over with bags of soup — big bags of soup. And they lay it on the ground, and the anarchists take it and they start throwing it at our cops, at our police. And if it hits you, that's worse than a brick because that's got force. It's the perfect size. It's, like, made perfect.
And when they get caught, they say, 'No, this is just soup for my family.' And then the media says, 'This is just soup. These people are very, very innocent. They're innocent people. These are just protesters. Isn't it wonderful to allow protesting?'"
It's unclear which reports Trump was referring to.
Though it slipped under the radar in July, the video is resurfacing only one day after a bizarre interview between Trump and far-right Fox News host Laura Ingraham, in which Trump floated a conspiracy theory that a plane full of people "in the dark shadows" was secretly running Biden's campaign.
Trump's soup rant generated a lot of chowder chatter.
Trump is the dark, gritty reboot of the Soup Nazi American didn't need https://t.co/ceVTvyygyn
— Jonathan Chait (@jonathanchait) September 1, 2020
I stopped carrying mace yrs ago. I now carry a can of Progresso cream of mushroom soup to defend myself. It packs a whollop. https://t.co/lyqWmxZSyz
— BiCoastal Elitist (@Carmen50) September 1, 2020
Ah, yes. The ol' "soup for my family" canard. Classic bit. https://t.co/rvGjKccasq
— Maggie Serota (@maggieserota) September 1, 2020
I found director of the ANTIFA https://t.co/2sx5yaVLR5 pic.twitter.com/9IDrS6pMe4
— Comfortably Numb (@YGalanter) September 1, 2020
this syntax will never leave my brain. the trump way of speaking is just fixed in my head now, forever https://t.co/ja7yTpSjHz
— Luke Bailey (@imbadatlife) September 1, 2020
You guys I know we remembered our black clothing but damn we forgot to load up the hold of our dark mission plane with bags of soup. #Planefullofthugs #soup https://t.co/pk21GWh6C8
— greta rasmussen (@gretarasmussen) September 1, 2020
I have taken,
The bag of soup,
That you were probably saving,
For dinner.
Forgive me,
I had to throw it,
At a cop.
I chose soup,
Instead of a brick,
So that if I get caught,
I can say,
This is just soup for my family.
— Myke Cole (@MykeCole) September 1, 2020
People began stewing over what Trump meant.
Is this like the suitcases full of drugs that Trump said people would throw over the U.S./Mexico border, which is why The Wall had to be built of transparent material? Because my 6yo still thinks that is hilariously absurd.
He's gonna love this new soup material. https://t.co/Ju4mNysTeq
— Amy Sullivan (@sullivanamy) September 1, 2020
Bags of soup?!? I know I ask this question every day, but legitimately... what is he talking about?
— Craig Beilinson (@cbeilinson) September 1, 2020
He lost me. Is it CANS of soup or BAGS of soup? I don't think I've ever seen a BAG of soup, unless he's talking about an envelope, like Mrs. Grass's Chicken Noodle or Potato Leek soup. But can someone be hurt by getting hit by an envelope of Mrs. Grass's soup? pic.twitter.com/H99K3iPcLw
— Lou Johnson (@LouBJohnson) September 1, 2020
As the responses to the video began to boil over, Trump was given the nickname "Soup Nazi"—in reference to the infamous Seinfeld character.
The Soup Nazi.
Seriously, listen to him rant delusionally about soup. https://t.co/qQ314gT9k3
— Jed Shugerman (@jedshug) September 1, 2020
It happened.
donald is literally now “The Soup Nazi".
Do your thing, twitter verse. Lay down the Seinfeld score.pic.twitter.com/8aa9ZeUG8H pic.twitter.com/RsdSoBjgIl
— Lincoln's Bible (@LincolnsBible) September 1, 2020
Trump is the dark, gritty reboot of the Soup Nazi American didn't need https://t.co/ceVTvyygyn
— Jonathan Chait (@jonathanchait) September 1, 2020
@CNN/Instagram
@CNN/Instagram
@CNN/Instagram
@CNN/Instagram
@CNN/Instagram
@CNN/Instagram
@CNN/Instagram
@CNN/Instagram
@CNN/Instagram
@CNN/Instagram
@CNN/Instagram
@CNN/Instagram
@CNN/Instagram
@CNN/Instagram
@CNN/Instagram
@CNN/Instagram
@CNN/Instagram
@CNN/Instagram
@CNN/Instagram
@CNN/Instagram
Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images