Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Friday had some choice letters for President Trump: “F” and “U.”
Ms. Lightfoot was firing back against Mr. Trump over comments he made regarding the protests in Minnesota that erupted after the death of George Floyd, which has renewed a national conversation over race and policing.
“I will code what I really want to say to Donald Trump. It’s two words. It begins with F and it ends with U,” Ms. Lightfoot, who is black, said at a news conference.
Democrats across the nation took offense after Mr. Trump slammed the mayor of Minneapolis and vowed to crack down on the protesters with military force.
“These THUGS are dishonoring the memory of George Floyd, and I won’t let that happen,” Mr. Trump tweeted early Friday morning. “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,” he said.
Responding to the outrage over his remarks, Mr. Trump doubled down later in the day, saying that “looting leads to shooting” and that is why a man was killed during the protests in Minneapolis and seven more people were shot in Louisville.
“I don’t want this to happen, and that’s what the expression put out last night means. … It was spoken as a fact, not as a statement,” he said. “It’s very simple, nobody should have any problem with this other than the haters, and those looking to cause trouble on social media. Honor the memory of George Floyd!”
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
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