President Trump’s claim that he was merely inspecting the White House bunker last month as protests swelled outside was contradicted Monday by his attorney general, William P. Barr.
Mr. Barr said during an interview that the U.S. Secret Service advised securing Mr. Trump beneath the White House in response to protests sparked by the killing of George Floyd.
“Things were so bad that the Secret Service recommended the president go down to the bunker,” Mr. Barr said on Fox News. “We can’t have that in our country.”
Several news outlets previously reported that Mr. Trump was rushed to the underground bunker on the night of Friday, May 29, and held there for around an hour as a security precaution as a nearby protest held over Mr. Floyd’s killing intensified.
Mr. Trump later acknowledged being in the bunker that Friday, but he said it was “false” to report that he was taken there in response to the protest.
“I went down during the day and I was there for a tiny, little short period of time, and it was much more for an inspection,” Mr. Trump said last Wednesday.
The White House declined to discuss the conflicting explanations when reached for comment.
“The White House does not comment on security protocols and decisions,” White House deputy press secretary Judd Deere told The Washington Times.
Mr. Floyd, a black man, was killed May 25 while in the custody of the Minneapolis Police Department. Four officers involved in his death have since been fired and charged with related crimes amid nationwide and global protests taking pace against systemic racism and police brutality.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.