President Trump slams D.C. Mayor Bowser for requesting withdrawal of additional fed. law enforcement

June 5, 2020 Michael US 0

President Donald Trump speaks during a roundtable discussion with commercial fishermen at Bangor International Airport in Bangor, Maine, Friday, June 5, 2020. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 1:15 PM PT — Friday, June 5, 2020

President Trump took aim at D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser after she requested all additional federal law enforcement and military personnel to withdraw from the city.

“The incompetent mayor, whose budget is totally out of control and is constantly coming back for handouts, is now fighting with the National Guard, who saved her from great embarrassment,” the president wrote on Twitter.

According to him, if Mayor Bowser “doesn’t treat these men and women well, then we’ll bring in a different group.”

…over the last number of nights. If she doesn’t treat these men and women well, then we’ll bring in a different group of men and women!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 5, 2020

Bowser formally issued a plea to the president in a letter Friday, asking him to remove the “extraordinary federal law enforcement and military presence” from the city. The mayor claimed the protests have been peaceful and suggested the extra units are “inflaming” the demonstrations.

“There were zero arrests associated with the peaceful demonstrations that we had here in our city,” she said. “There was no damage to MPD property, there was no MPD injuries.”

I request that @realDonaldTrump withdraw all extraordinary federal law enforcement and military presence from our city. pic.twitter.com/AvaJfQ0mxP

— Mayor Muriel Bowser (@MayorBowser) June 5, 2020

District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser, right, speaks next to Metropolitan Police Department Chief Peter Newsham, Monday, June 1, 2020, in Washington, during a news conference to announce a new 7 p.m. curfew for the city for the next two nights. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

In recent days, hundreds of National Guard troops have poured into D.C. to help bolster security for the White House and federal monuments. President Trump has touted the move as an example for states across the U.S.

“We need safety in our cities. When they don’t take care of it, we took care of it. In Washington, D.C., I said two days ago, this is the safest place on earth. We brought in incredible people, they took care of the situation very easily. It was very easy for them.” – Donald Trump, 45th President of the United States

Mayor Bowser has repeatedly challenged the president’s decision since. She argued he does not have the legal authority to make such a decision in her jurisdiction.

“Does the president have authority to request guard from other states?” she asked. “I have the authority to request guard from other states, I have not requested guard from any state.”

In addition to her formal letter to the president, reports stated Bowser has been making underground moves to remove law enforcement from the city. She’s reportedly planning to expel at least 1,200 National Guard members by cancelling their hotel accommodations.

Vehicles for the District of Columbia National Guard are seen outside the D.C. Armory, Monday, June 1, 2020, in Washington. Protests have erupted across the United States to protest the death of Floyd, a black man who was killed in police custody in Minneapolis on May 25. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

GOP senators have spoken out against these plans. They have said, if these reports are true, Bowser is acting inappropriately and unpatriotically.

In a recent Twitter post, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) announced he will do “everything possible to push back against this outrage against the men and women of our National Guard.”

“The mayor of D.C. should thank them, not evict them,” he added.

I will do everything possible to push back against this outrage against the men and women of our National Guard.

They left their homes and businesses in Utah to protect homes and businesses in our nation’s Capital.

The Mayor of DC should thank them — not evict them!

— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) June 5, 2020

The debate on extra law enforcement comes as officials predicted this Saturday will show the largest protest yet, with a potential to bring more violence and destruction to the nation’s capital.

In this image provided by the Executive Office of the Mayor, District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser stands on the rooftop of the Hay Adams Hotel near the White House and looks out at the words ‘Black Lives Matter’ that have been painted in bright yellow letters on the street by city workers and activists, Friday, June 5, 2020, in Washington. (Executive Office of the Mayor/Khalid Naji-Allah via AP)