Jimmy Kimmel Slams Trump for 'Inflaming Violence' amid Nationwide Protests Over George Floyd's Death
Jimmy Kimmel began Friday’s episode of his late-night show on a decidedly more somber note than usual.
In his monologue, Kimmel addressed the recent protests that have erupted following the death of George Floyd — the unarmed black man who died in custody at the hands of Minneapolis police — and called out President Donald Trump for his handling of the incident.
The protests, which began in Minneapolis and have now taken place in at least 30 U.S. cities, turned violent in many cases.
"Unfortunately, this is the loop we get stuck in. It goes from 'it isn't right to kill an unarmed man' to 'well it also isn't right to loot and set fires and attack the police,' " the host said on Jimmy Kimmel Live. "Last night there were senseless acts of violence that were brought on by a senseless act of violence. And it just keeps going in a loop."
John Minchillo/AP/Shutterstock Minneapolis protest
Kimmel went on to criticize Trump for his late-night tweeting amid the protests on Thursday night.
“At 1 o’clock in the morning, instead of trying to make peace, Donald Trump makes a threat, a violent threat,” Kimmel said. The late-night host then read out Trump’s threatening tweet, which was flagged by Twitter as violating its policy on the "glorification of violence."
“These THUGS are dishonoring the memory of George Floyd, and I won’t let that happen,” Trump wrote. “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. Thank you!”
....These THUGS are dishonoring the memory of George Floyd, and I won’t let that happen. 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. Thank you!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 29, 2020
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“Our president is threatening to order the military to shoot Americans, specifically black Americans,” Kimmel said, noting that Trump did later try to walk back the original tweet, claiming it was misconstrued.
Kimmel continued: "I especially want to pose this question to older people who have seen this before in this country, who have lived this nightmare of race riots already, in the '60s and '70s, '80s, now. Is this who you want leading us? A president who clearly and intentionally inflames violence in the middle of a riot to show how tough he is? A commander in chief who threatens to put members of our military, our national guardsmen and women in the position of having to shoot a fellow American on-site?"
"I don't care what you are, right, left, Republican, Democrat, something else. Enough is enough. We've got to vote this guy out already," the host added.
