The racist history of Trump’s “When the looting starts, the shooting starts” tweet

Several prominent segregationists have used the phrase while cracking down on black protesters since the civil rights era.

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On Friday afternoon, President Donald Trump attempted to backtrack on a tweet that appeared to threaten violence against black Americans protesting the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Earlier in the day, Trump insinuated that he would bring in the military to quell any violence or looting if the situation wasn’t brought under control by Minnesota’s Democratic Gov. Tim Walz soon. “When the looting starts, the shooting starts,” the president tweeted Friday.

Twitter flagged the tweet for violating its rules against inciting violence.

About 13 hours later, Trump tried to walk back the phrase on Twitter by claiming he meant that when looting starts, people end up getting shot. “Looting leads to shooting, and that’s why a man was shot and killed in Minneapolis on Wednesday night - or look at what just happened in Louisville with 7 people shot,” he tweeted.