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'Let them rot!': Trump slammed for retweeting call for Democrat-led cities to be abandoned amid BLM protests

The original post was tweeted by Brandon Straka, who made news in June for being banned from American Airlines for refusing to wear a face mask

President Donald Trump, on Sunday, August 16, retweeted a message by one of his supporters, which called for Democrat-led cities to be abandoned amid the ongoing Black Lives Matter protests. The tweet, written by pro-Trump activist Brandon Straka, stated: "Leave Democrat cities. Let them rot. The media and The Democrats have activated this mental illness and it's going to get more and more people hurt and killed. WalkAway from the radical left. And do it quickly."

Straka, who made news in June for being banned from American Airlines for refusing to wear a face mask, also posted a video clip along with the message, showing protesters near New York's Times Square. The video was originally posted by retired NYPD detective Rob O'Donnell on Twitter, who wrote: "NYC Times Square last night. They are threatening bodily & property damage, limiting the free flow of traffic, unlawfully holding others against their will. If NYC Leadership won't take action, the citizens will need to defend themselves." The clip shows some protesters yelling at the driver of a black Jeep to turn around as they blocked part of the road. 

Shortly after Trump retweeted Straka's tweet, several influential figures slammed the president for doing so, including CNN anchor Jake Tapper. "I couldn't believe it when I first saw it, but I checked, and yes, the president of the United States actually retweeted this message to 'Leave Democrat cities. Let them rot," Tapper tweeted.

Washington Post's political reporter, Karen Tumulty, also expressed despair over the president's actions, writing: "Have we lost our capacity to be shocked? The President of the United States -- who is supposed to lead an entire nation -- just retweeted someone urging 'Leave Democrat cities. Let them rot.'" Brandon Friedman, a former columnist for the New York Daily News, also tweeted, saying that rump's retweet shows that the country was in a "civil war."

"This is from the commander-in-chief, the President of the United States, further confirming that we are presently in a cold civil war," Friedman wrote.

The retweet from the president comes just months after he found himself in a similar controversy, when he retweeted a video of one of his supporters showing a "White power" sign. It was reported in June that White House officials could not reach Trump to make him delete his retweet of a video of one his supporters shouting "White power." His controversial retweet set off a "five-alarm fire" in the White House as officials scrambled to reach him while the president was relaxing at his golf course in Sterling, Virginia, and had put his phone down, two officials said. It reportedly took officials over three hours to contact the Republican leader.

Trump's Twitter account sparked a social media firestorm as critics denounced him for promoting a white supremacist message. The officials also attempted to reach deputy chief of staff Dan Scavino to ask him to delete the retweet but were unsuccessful, NBC News reported. According to the White House officials, once they were able to reach Trump, he agreed to delete the post. The pressure on Trump to delete the retweet increased after Republican Senator Tim Scott slammed the retweet as "indefensible" and demanded that the president delete it. Scott made the statement during an interview with CNN. "There's no question. He should not have retweeted and he should just take it down," the Republican senator said.