UPDATE: Trump denies being sent into the bunker, though with violent rioters flooding DC, only a Trump-deranged person would view this as a weak action. Also, if the Secret Service says to get into the bunker, they go. Notice how the first sentence is framed as if Trump would have a choice concerning being sent to the PEOC. It's the Secret Service's call, not necessarily Trump's, but this bunker talk is being way overblown and framed in a way that's disgusting. There is always an overabundance of caution and security when it comes to the president of the United States (via Politico):
President Donald Trump on Wednesday denied reports that he retreated to the underground bunker beneath the White House last Friday night as protests outside the executive mansion escalated, insisting he only visited the secure facility for a brief time during the day for the purposes of “inspection.”
“It was a false report. I wasn’t down. 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. There was no problem during the day,” Trump told “Fox & Friends” co-host Brian Kilmeade on his Fox News radio show.
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President Trump ran on law and order in 2016. He promised law and order in the wake of the George Floyd riots that have engulfed the country for over a week, cities across the country have been set ablaze over the death of Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis Police on May 25. Floyd’s death was avoidable. He was subdued and handcuffed. He only died because Officer Derek Chauvin kept his knee on the back of his neck for nearly ten minutes. Chauvin was fired and is now charged with second-degree murder. The three other officers involved in the arrest were also fired and charged with aiding and abetting murder.
In Washington D.C., activists breached the security perimeter near the White House which forced President Trump into the protective bunker, according to some sources who told The Washington Post. Trump has previously ventured outside of the perimeter to visit St. John’s Church, the church of the presidents, to show he was serious about his declaration on law and order. The church has been set on fire by rioters (via WaPo):
President Trump was rushed to a secure bunker in the White House on Friday evening after a group of protesters hopped over temporary barricades set up near the Treasury Department grounds, according to arrest records and people familiar with the incident.
The security move came after multiple people crossed over fences that had been erected to create a larger barrier around the White House complex around 7 p.m.
Secret Service officers detained at least four protesters, who were charged with unlawful entry at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, according to arrest records. The incident took place near the border between the White House lawn and Treasury Department, about 350 feet from the East Wing, and close to a Treasury fence line that has been at the center of past security failures.
The breach occurred around the time that the Secret Service alert level on the White House complex was elevated from “yellow” to “red,” according to a law enforcement official, who, like others, spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe internal safety maneuvers. Officials familiar with the incident told colleagues that the president, the first lady and their son Barron were rushed to the bunker because of the episode, according to two people familiar with their accounts.
Floyd’s death was a moment of unity for a brief second, as pretty much everyone was shocked and horrified by it. The outrage transcended across the political spectrum, but that ends when cops are assaulted, shot, and run over by cars. It ends when looting begins, along with mass arson and vandalism. It’s time to put the mob down.
