Taylor Swift Slams President Donald Trump for 'Threatening Violence' Amid George Floyd Protests
by Desiree MurphyTaylor Swift is calling out President Donald Trump.
The singer took to Twitter on Friday to address Trump's recent tweets, in which he reacts to those who are protesting in Minneapolis following the fatal arrest of George Floyd.
"I can't stand back & watch this happen to a great American City, Minneapolis. A total lack of leadership," Trump tweeted Thursday night. "Either the very weak Radical Left Mayor, Jacob Frey, get his act together and bring the City under control, or I will send in the National Guard & get the job done right."
"These THUGS are dishonoring the memory of George Floyd, and I won't let that happen," he continued. "Just spoke to Governor Tim Walz and told him that the Military is with him all the way. Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts. Thank you!"
Early Friday morning, Swift directly responded to Trump on Twitter.
"After stoking the fires of white supremacy and racism your entire presidency, you have the nerve to feign moral superiority before threatening violence?" she wrote. "'When the looting starts the shooting starts’??? We will vote you out in November. @realdonaldtrump."
Debra Messing also called out Trump by sharing a screenshot of his tweet, but with red boxes around "THUGS" and "very good people." The phrases were replaced with "black people protesting police brutality" and "white people protesting, can't get hair and nails done," respectively.
As ET previously reported, Floyd died Monday evening in Minneapolis, Minnesota, at the age of 46, after he was arrested for suspicion of forgery outside of a deli. Video of the arrest shows Floyd, who is black, repeatedly telling a white police officer kneeling on his neck that he couldn't breathe. The officer didn't let up for more than seven minutes, and according to CBS Minnesota, Floyd was taken to Hennepin County Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
CBS News reports that four officers were fired Tuesday for their roles in the incident. The FBI is taking part in the investigation of the case, which has sparked outrage and protests.
A number of other celebrities have been vocal about the injustice of Floyd's death, including Beyoncé, Kim Kardashian West and Colin Kaepernick.
"Enough is enough! What will it take? A civil war? A new president? Violent riots ? It’s tired ! I’m tired ! The country is tired !" Cardi B wrote on Instagram. "You don’t put fear in people when you do this you just show how coward YOU ARE ! And how America is really not the land of the free !"
"Do we need any more proof that if you are a man of color when it comes to Police procedure we are at a deadly disadvantage?" Jamie Foxx added in his own post. "No need to sugarcoat it… Two white men carry out mass murders that kill over 32 people… One of the mass murderers sat down in the church with the black members and then proceeded to kill them and was calmly taken into custody... #whydotheyhateus."