Trump says Black Lives Matter is 'bad for Black people'
President Trump on Monday decried Black Lives Matter as a "discriminatory" organization that is "bad for Black people" as part of a broader diatribe against protests in response to racial injustice.
The president spent a chunk of his interview with Fox News host Laura Ingraham painting a dark picture of demonstrations that have persisted in recent months following the police killings of Black people. Trump took particular aim at Black Lives Matter, a group that aims to combat police brutality and racial injustice.
"Black Lives Matter is a Marxist organization," Trump said. "The first time I ever heard of Black Lives Matter, I said, 'That’s a terrible name.' It’s so discriminatory. It’s bad for Black people. It’s bad for everybody.”
Trump called corporations that have donated to Black Lives Matter causes "weak," saying they were taking the "easiest path."
"That's not the easy path," he said. "That's a very dangerous path."
The president has previously said the phrase "Black Lives Matter," which was painted in front of Trump Tower in New York and near The White House in Washington, was a "symbol of hate."
The president's comments came as protests in Portland, Ore., and Kenosha, Wis., have grown violent in recent days. An Illinois teenager allegedly shot and killed two protesters in Wisconsin last week amid demonstrations in response to the police shooting of Jacob Blake.
In Portland on Saturday, a man was killed amid clashes between right-wing groups and left-wing demonstrators. The man who died has been linked to the right-wing group Patriot Prayer. A suspect in the shooting has not been identified.
Trump did not condemn the Kenosha suspect, who was reported to have previously attended one of the president's rallies. Trump instead argued the suspect may have been acting in self-defense.
But he has painted other protesters as extremists and attempted to gin up fear about what could happen if Democratic nominee Joe Biden is elected.
"Biden won’t calm things down. They will take over. They will have won," Trump said. "If Biden gets in, they will have won.
"They will have taken over your cities. It’s a revolution," he continued. "You understand that. It’s a revolution. And the people of this country will not stand for that."
Biden earlier Monday condemned the violence that has sprouted out of recent unrest. He accused the president of fomenting violence, suggesting the White House views it as politically beneficial.
“This president long ago forfeited any moral leadership in this country,” Biden said in Pennsylvania. “He can’t stop the violence because for years he’s fomented it.”