Donald Trump went on an unhinged rant during a teleconference call with the nation’s mayors and governors about the protests taking place across America.
Trump told the group, “the only time it’s successful is when you’re weak and most of you are weak.”
“You have to dominate,” he said. “If you don’t dominate you’re wasting your time. They’re going to run over you, you’re going to look like a bunch of jerks. You have to dominate.”
He reportedly went on to call them “fools.”
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He then issued a warning for what might happen in Washington, D.C.
“We’re doing it in Washington, DC. We’re going to do something that people haven’t seen before,” Trump vowed.
JUST IN: President Trump unloads on the nation's governors on a call, calls on them to step up enforcement: "You have to dominate, if you don’t dominate you’re wasting your time. They’re going to run over you, you’re going to look like a bunch of jerks. You have to dominate."
— Ed O'Keefe (@edokeefe) June 1, 2020
NEW- In ongoing call with Governors- President Trump is scolding their response to the crisis.
Trump blamed protests on "radical left" and then said:
“The only time it's successful is when you’re weak and most of you are weak.”
— Ryan Nobles (@ryanobles) June 1, 2020
More: President Trump just berated governors and mayors for how they are handling the protests, calling them "fools," per person on the call.
— Robert Costa (@costareports) June 1, 2020
Aides to governors say the president continues to talk. One describes it as a "rant." Says he keeps talking about the need to "dominate" the protests.
— Robert Costa (@costareports) June 1, 2020
MORE: "We're doing it in Washington, DC. We're going to do something that people haven't seen before," Trump vows in call with governors and mayors.
He insists authorities must have "total domination," or anarchists will rule.
— Steven Portnoy (@stevenportnoy) June 1, 2020
MORE: Trump tells governors: "You’ve got to arrest people, you have to track people, you have to put them in jail for 10 years and you’ll never see this stuff again," per audio obtained by @CBSNews
— Ed O'Keefe (@edokeefe) June 1, 2020
On the call, Trump references Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Milley and Attorney General Bill Barr. "We will activate Bill Barr and activate him very strongly," Trump says.
— Ed O'Keefe (@edokeefe) June 1, 2020
On his call with governors, Trump is now saying that the response in Minnesota was an “experiment.”
“First part was weak and pathetic. Second part was domination,” he said, according to a source on the call.
— Kevin Robillard (@Robillard) June 1, 2020
RELATED: NYT: Scared Trump Rushed To Underground Bunker As Protesters Surround The White House
