Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms (D) on Sunday told CNN's Jake Tapper that President Donald Trump is helping to fuel riots that are taking place in the country.
"President Trump has been tweeting about the violent protests across the country. He vowed to 'step in and use the unlimited power of our military' and he suggested the local officials should 'get tough and fight.' He's also talked about threatening the 'most vicious dogs and ominous weapons I have ever seen' to use against protestors in Washington, D.C.," Tapper said. "What do you make of the way the president has handled this crisis?"
Lance Bottoms shook her head.
"He should just stop talking. This is like Charlottesville all over again. He speaks and he makes it worse. There are times when you should just be quiet. And I wish that he would just be quiet," she said. "Or, if he can't be silent, if there's somebody with a good sense and good conscience at the White House, put him in front of a teleprompter and pray that he reads it and at least says the right things, because he is making it worse."
“This is like Charlottesville all over again. He speaks and he makes it worse. There are times when you should just be quiet. And I wish that he would just be quiet.”
— State of the Union (@CNNSotu) May 31, 2020
Atlanta Mayor @KeishaBottoms reacts to President Trump’s handling of protests across the country. #CNNSOTU pic.twitter.com/FN3qQJcOS2
The mayor's calls come after she pleaded with Atlantans to "go home" and stop rioting and looting in their town.
"If you want change in America, go and register to vote, show up at the polls on June 9th. Do it in November. That is the change we need in this country. You are disgracing our city. You are disgracing the life of George Floyd and every other person who has been killed in this country," she said at the time. "We are better than this. We are better than this as a city. We are better than this as a country. Go home! Go home!"