Trump calls on Minneapolis mayor to get tough and fight protesters

U.S. President Donald Trump has called on Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey to show a tougher response to protesters by arresting them.

Trump made the comments in a series of tweets over the weekend after thousands flooded the streets despite Frey’s curfew.

Trump appeared to be taking advantage of the protest again death of George Floyd, an African American pinned down to his death by a white police officer, to further his partisan agenda against liberals in an election year.

The Donald tweeted: "Mayor Jacob Frey of Minneapolis will never be mistaken for the late, great General Douglas McArthur or great fighter General George Patton," the president said.  "How come all of these places that defend so poorly are run by Liberal Democrats? Get tough and fight (and arrest the bad ones)?"

The Democrat mayor responded to the allegations by asserting that: "Weakness is pointing your finger at somebody else during a time of crisis.  Donald Trump knows nothing about the strength of Minneapolis."

Police-involved shootings and killings of unarmed Black men in the hands of white police officers have led to mass protests across the country in recent years and the formation of the Black Lives Matter movement.

The U.S. Army has prepared several active-duty military police units to deploy to Minneapolis amid widespread protests rattling America.

"We have our military ready, willing and able, if they ever want to call our military.  We can have troops on the ground very quickly," Trump said as he left the White House Saturday afternoon on his way to Florida. "They're using their National Guard right now, as you know."

Speaking of Minnesota government officials, the president also said: "They've got to be tough, they've got to be strong, they've got to be respected,” adding that the protesters must be "taught" that they "can't do this."