Trump thanks himself for 'many arrests' in D.C. last night

A protester kneels in front of secret service.
(Image credit: OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP via Getty Images)

President Trump has issued a very contradictory assessment of how protests in Washington, D.C., went down Monday night.

Protests against police brutality continued peacefully on Monday until the evening, when law enforcement began clearing the streets outside the White House so Trump could walk to St. John's Church across the street for a photo. Law enforcement fired tear gas and rubber bullets at the protesters, creating a surreal side-by-side as Trump spoke in the Rose Garden, but the president still maintained that there were "no problems in D.C. last night."

Trump's evaluation of Monday night's protest came in a Tuesday morning tweet, though he immediately reversed that "no problems" sentiment by bluntly stating there were "many arrests" in D.C. due to "overwhelming force" and "domination." Trump then thanked himself for what happened.

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After a week of protests, Trump declared Monday evening that he was Americans' "president of law and order" and announced he would "deploy the United States military" to end violent protests in any city. Trump also announced he was "dispatching thousands and thousands of heavily armed soldiers, military personnel, and law enforcement officers" to halt protests in D.C.

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Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.