Huffpost
By Lee Moran
Former President Donald Trump wanted a heavy-handed, violent and aggressive response to civil rights protesters who took to the streets nationwide following the police killing of George Floyd last year, according to a new book.
Trump reportedly told advisers that he wanted the military to “beat the fuck” out of the mostly peaceful demonstrators, according to an excerpt from Wall Street Journal reporter Michael Bender’s “‘Frankly, We Did Win This Election’: The Inside Story Of How Trump Lost” that was published by CNN on Thursday.
“Just shoot them,” Trump reportedly repeatedly demanded.
He is also quoted as saying he wanted to “crack their skulls.”
Trump wanted military to ‘beat the f***’ out of George Floyd protesters and ‘crack their skulls,’ new book reveals @jaketapper reports pic.twitter.com/eatvSGv9rZ
— The Lead CNN (@TheLeadCNN) June 24, 2021
The then-president later slightly softened his stance when his request was pushed back on, saying, “Well, shoot them in the leg — or maybe the foot, but be hard on them,” per the book.
In another incident around the time of the protests, Bender reported how Gen. Mark Milley, the nation’s highest-ranking military officer, told Trump’s then-senior policy adviser Stephen Miller to “shut the fuck up” after he claimed cities were like war zones.
This news originally appeared in Huffpost.
