Don Jr lauds father Trump's tough stance on toppling statues and arrests: 'Someone has to be held accountable'
Donald Trump Jr, the president's eldest son, lauded his father's efforts to curb vandalism and prevent violent protests that were sparked after George Floyd's death in police custody. During an appearance on 'Fox & Friends', the younger Trump noted that Democrat mayors and leaders were allowing public monuments to be desecrated and likened their actions to a preview of "Joe Biden's America" if he won the November election.
“You see what’s happening now. They arrested ring leader of a group that took down monuments. They’re starting to arrest people that are desecrating public property,” Trump Jr stated. “This is not stuff that would be allowed to go on, and it shouldn’t be by anyone, so him stepping up and doing that when governors or these leftist mayors who have allowed this stuff to happen in their cities when they won’t step up, someone else has to. Someone has to be held accountable."
He continued, "I don’t want CHOP and those kinds of zones coming into my backyard, and that’s what the left is trying to do. They want that to take over the rest of America. They don’t want the rule of law, and that would be Joe Biden’s America.”
Don Jr's comments came a day after the president vowed to stop "lawlessness" and protect monuments and statues across the nation. “Lawlessness has been allowed to prevail. We’re not going to let it prevail any longer,” Trump said in a video message on Twitter on July 2.
Last week, the commander-in-chief signed an executive order to protect American memorials and monuments and said those who tried to take them down would face "long prison time." Initially, the protesters were specifically targeting statues of Confederate generals and figures, but it soon emerged that American cultural figures such as Abraham Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson were also being targeted.
The president's 42-year-old son also pointed out how some violent protesters had been “ripping down and desecrating statues of Lincoln” as well as Ulysses S Grant. “They're desecrating World War II monuments dedicated to Black soldiers who fought for America,” he noted. “This isn't about racism anymore and we have to stop pretending that it is.”
Don Jr also attacked New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, describing him as having “been a total disaster”. “He's done a terrible job handling anything as it relates to New York,” he continued. “Honestly, that was the case prior to Covid. Covid just highlighted his gross incompetence.”
According to him, Democrat leaders are “almost encouraging this kind of behavior and that's the problem.” “This can't go on. We don't want it to spread beyond that. This is perhaps the reason why you're seeing these [coronavirus] spikes because you can't go to work, you can't go to church, and you sure as heck can't go to school, but we can gather and protest and not be socially distanced,” he added. “I mean the hypocrisy that comes out of all of these people's mouths is truly disgusting.”