President Donald Trump declared himself the “president of law and order” in a Rose Garden speech Monday afternoon (June 1), threatening military response to protests if the violence does not ease.
“Mayors and governors must establish an overwhelming law enforcement presence until the violence has been quelled,” he said. “If a city or state refuses to take the actions that are necessary to defend the life and property of their residents, then I will deploy the U.S. military and quickly solve the problem for them.”
He went on to note that he is dispatching “thousands and thousands of heavily armed soldiers, military personnel and law enforcement officers to stop the rioting, looting vandalism and the wanton destruction of property” in the nation’s capital.
The speech came shortly after tear gas, flash grenades and rubber bullets were used toward peaceful protesters in Washington D.C. as Trump made his way to a nearby church for a photo op.
Since his statement, artists have flooded social media, blasting Trump for declaring “war on the public” and causing more harm than good.
See responses from Diddy, John Legend, Snoop Dogg, Ariana Grande, Niall Horan and more below.
