Some Senate Republicans are raising concerns about the tone of President Donald Trumpâs rhetoric amid protests over the death of George Floyd.
Trumpâs press briefing in the Rose Garden and the actions that followed on Monday have been with opposition not only from Democrats but also by several of his fellow Republicans.
Trump, who described himself as a âlaw and orderâ president expressed a desire to use a forceful, dominant approach to governing states.
According to many Republicans â including Senate Majority Whip John Thune (R-S.D.) along with Senators Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Cory Gardner (R-Colo.), and Mitt Romney (R-Utah) â Trumpâs tone and rhetoric may send the wrong message, reports The Hill.
During this critical time, many are urging him to change his tone and call for unity.
Toomey weighed in on Trumpâs stance during a press conference on Monday, saying, âI do think some of his tweets have not been helpful, and it would be helpful if he would change the tone of his message.â
Thune has also echoed similar sentiments.
âI agree with those assessments. Thatâs not helpful,â Thune said, adding, âI think itâs important to respond in a calm way.â
He continued, âHe needs to strike a tone, I think, that fits the level of frustration the country is experiencing right now, and I hope in the future heâll do that.â
Concerned Republicansâ latest remarks follow Trumpâs weekend of tweets. The president was accused of glorifying violence which resulted in Twitter censoring tweets. At one point, the president threatened protesters with âvicious dogsâ and âominous weapons.â
On Sunday, Scott appeared on Fox News where he also weighed in on the tweet that eliciting a 1967 call for an aggressive response against protests that escalate to looting.
According to Scott, who is the only black Republican in the Senate, âThose are not constructive tweets, without any question.â
He also offered details about his conversation with the president about the tweets.
âWe talked about the fact that there is a constructive way to have a dialogue with a nation in this similar fashion that we had a conversation after Charlottesville,â Scott said. âThe president will listen, if you engage him with the facts of the issue.â
See Scottâs remarks below:
Like Scott, Gardner also said that he would not have tweeted the remarks Trump shared.
âI wouldnât have sent them,â Gardner said. âI think weâve got to bring people together. This is not about violence. Itâs about finding answers and solutions,â he said.
Romney has also criticized Trumpâs tweet saying, âwhen the looting comes, the shooting comes.â
https://twitter.com/TwitterComms/status/1266267446979129345
âI think that was a very unfortunate comment,â Romney said.
Twitter flagged the presidentâs remarks as it labeled the tweet as âglorifying violence,â as previously reported on IJR.
Hours after making that statement, Trump claimed he was not aware that the quote derived from the 1960s rhetoric of a Miami police chief widely criticized by civil rights organizations.
