President Donald Trump has raised the prospect of “shooting in the legs” of protesters gathered around the White House during the 2020 anti-racism protests, according to a book to be released by his former US Defense Secretary Mark Esper.
• Read also: Stefan Bancel: The man who reassured former President Trump
• Read also: Trump attends rally for candidate accused of sexual assault
• Read also: More than 200 immigrant children have been reunited with their families, under Trump
In excerpts obtained by Axios and published Monday, the former Pentagon chief reported between July 2019 and November 2020 that on the sidelines of anti-racism demonstrations in June 2020, the president was so angry, he was going to fire in the Oval Office: “Can’t you just shoot them? Shoot them.” In the legs or something.”
On June 1, 2020, the surroundings of the White House were the scene of raging demonstrations, following the killing of African-American George Floyd a few days ago by a white police officer in Minneapolis, northern United States. -united.
The context, according to Mark Esper, was “surreal,” as he wrote in his memoir to be published May 10 in the US, entitled “Holy Oath.”
“The good news,” he says, “was not a difficult decision” not to follow the Republican president’s idea. “The Bad: I had to get Trump to back off without making the mess I was trying to avoid.”
In a book published in August 2021, journalist Michael Bender already mentioned that the billionaire repeatedly shouted: “Shoot them,” on the sidelines of these same rallies.
In front of the pictures of the suppression of protesters, Donald Trump would also launch: “This is how you should take care of these people. Smash their skulls!”.