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1967
Trump Doubles Down On 'Looters' Quote Even After Black Fox News Journalist Explains The Racist Origin To Him
Since the May 25 killing of George Floyd sparked nationwide anti-racism protests, which have roiled the U.S. since that time, Donald Trump hasn't been able to stay away from controversy.
And now he's igniting new controversy about the previous controversies.
Immediately following George Floyd's death, the city of Minneapolis saw large, angry demonstrations. They called for greater police accountability and an end to racialized police brutality.
Particularly, residents wanted criminal charges for each of the four police officers involved in Floyd's death.
Though largely nonviolent, some of those early demonstrations did end with burning buildings and looted businesses, a detail Trump was quick to jump on at the time.
....These THUGS are dishonoring the memory of George Floyd, and I won't let that happen. Just spoke to Governor Tim Walz and told him that the Military is with him all the way. Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts. Thank you!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 29, 2020
Since Trump posted the tweet, that phrase—"when the looting starts, the shooting starts"—has been at the heart of countless criticisms thrown Trump's way.
Most recently, Fox News' Harris Faulkner, a Black woman, took the President to task on that comment during a Fox News interview.
Faulkner: Why those words?
Trump: So that's an expression I've heard over the years
Faulkner: Do you know where it comes from?
Trump: I think Philadelphia. The mayor of Philadelphia.
Faulkner: It comes from 1967 pic.twitter.com/J8EgoVXcqX
— Acyn Torabi (@Acyn) June 11, 2020
Faulkner began by asking, plain and simple, why he said what he said.
"I'm a Black woman. I'm a mom. You've talked about it, but we haven't seen you come out and be that consoler in this instance. And the tweets, 'when the looting starts the shooting starts'. Why those words?"
After Trump explained it as an expression he's "heard over the years," Faulkner interrupted.
She asked if he knew its origin. He wrongly traced it back to Philadelphia.
Faulkner then took some time to school Trump on the real origins of the phrase.
"No. It comes from 1967. I was about 18 months old at the time. … But it was from the chief of police in Miami. He was cracking down, and he meant what he said."
"And he said, 'I don't even care if it makes it look like brutality I'm going to crack down, 'when the looting starts, the shooting starts.' "
"That frightened a lot of people when you tweeted that."
Trump, of course, had a rebuttal for that.
In the face of Faulkner's fact-based explanation, he offered his own instead.
"Well, it also comes from a very tough mayor, who might have been police commissioner at the time, but I think mayor of Philadelphia named Frank Rizzo."
"And he had an expression like that, but I've heard it many times from – I think it's been used many times."
It's worth noting that the statue of Frank Rizzo, just outside Philadelphia's City Hall, was torn down because it "represented bigotry, hatred, and oppression for too many people, for too long," according to the city's Mayor.
But Trump had more to add.
He closed with a confusing explanation of the phrase's semantics.
"It means two things – very different things. One is, if there's looting, there's probably going to be shooting, and that's not as a threat, that's really just a fact, because that's what happens."
"And the other is, if there's looting, there's going to be shooting. They're very different meanings."
Needless to say, Twitter was not surprised, but infuriated all the same.
PS. It means one thing and one thing only. Sad to see how, when pressed on matters, you get an answer you'd expect from an adolescent just making things up as they go along. Not a President, not a statesman, NO SIR. A 3rd tier property developer, maybe. Nothing else.
— Commentry (@goldencell) June 11, 2020
And he pretends she didn't say anything and goes on.
There is no value in interviewing him, he doesn't engage he just orates.
— Estarianne, Warrior Queen Of Antifa 🦹♀️👸 (@estarianne) June 11, 2020
Rizzo's slogan for his second reelection campaign was “Vote White."
— George Conway (@gtconway3d) June 11, 2020
Others took some enjoyment in where the power seemed to lay in that interview.
the most damning part of the interview is when Harris Faulkner says, "oh, interesting." A very simple crushing of Trump's twisted justification.
— Ian Fowler (@IanFowlerNet) June 12, 2020
He was having a real hard time with eye contact. Women intimidate the hell out of him.
— Marion IA Gma (@MarionIAGma) June 11, 2020
With the protests around the country pressing on, even after some cities have undertaken new police reforms, we can expect Trump's approach to stay in line with this one—double down on whatever he said, no matter how hard that gets.