Trump Says Racial Justice Protesters ‘Just Looking For Trouble’

(Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump took aim at people protesting racism and police brutality, saying they are “just looking for trouble” and don’t know about the killing of a Black man at the hands of police in Minneapolis that led to demonstrations nationally.

“They’re not protesters,” Trump said Friday at a rally at the airport in Manchester, New Hampshire. “Those are anarchists, they’re agitators, they’re rioters, they’re looters.”

Trump made the comments at his first rally after the conclusion of the four-day Republican National Convention this week in which speakers emphasized the president’s “law and order” platform. Hours before he spoke, thousands of people gathered near the Lincoln Memorial to mark the 57th anniversary of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s March on Washington.

Peaceful protests and riots have erupted across the country since the death of George Floyd in the custody of Minneapolis police in May. The latest epicenter was in Kenosha, Wisconsin, where police shot Jacob Blake, a Black man, on Sunday.

Trump complained about protests in Washington after his convention acceptance speech on Thursday night, and said Mayor Muriel Bowser didn’t do enough to contain them.

Trump said the demonstrations have “nothing to do with George Floyd.” He added: “They don’t even know who George Floyd is.”

During his remarks, Trump lamented that there’s “so much racial hatred,” for which he blamed CNN and other news organizations. He said he “delivered for the African-American community,” comparing himself to President Abraham Lincoln, who issued the Emancipation Proclamation.

The president has recently drawn criticism for promising to keep low-income housing out of American suburbs, which his opponents say is an appeal to White voters.

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