Chris Wallace on George Floyd’s death: This may be the ugliest we have ever seen
‘Fox News Sunday’ anchor Chris Wallace discusses the growing outrage over the death of George Floyd on ‘America’s Newsroom.’
In the wake of George Floyd being killed while under police custody, "Fox News Sunday" anchor Chris Wallace said on Friday that the current climate of social unrest in the United States is comparable to the Vietnam War era.
“The only thing that I can think of that even compares is 1968, the Vietnam war in full force, Americans being killed, protesters being shot and killed on college campuses, and then the Democratic Convention in Chicago with the anti-war protesters, police hitting them in the streets,” Wallace told “America’s Newsroom," just hours before the arrest of the officer who knelt on Floyd's neck while he was handcuffed.
“That was one of the times when you wondered, is the center gonna hold, are we going to stay together as a society?” he recalled, comparing it to the "tough times" facing the country amid the riots and the coronavirus pandemic.
"I think we will [hold together] again in this case. There are tough times that the country goes through. You just hope that calmer heads prevail and that order triumphs over disorder."
MINNEAPOLIS THIRD PRECINCT POLICE STATION SET ON FIRE AFTER RIOTERS BREAK IN
President Trump took to Twitter early Friday to vow military support for the governor of Minnesota after another night of violent protest in Minneapolis, which included a police station being overrun and set on fire.
“I can’t stand back & watch this happen to a great American City, Minneapolis,” Trump tweeted. “A total lack of leadership. 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.
A second tweet continued, “These THUGS are dishonoring the memory of George Floyd, and I won’t let this happen. 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.”
Mayor Jacob Frey said it was his decision to evacuate the precinct.
“The symbolism of the building cannot outweigh the importance of life, our officers or the public,” he said. “We could not risk serious injury to anyone. And we will continue to patrol the Third Precinct,” he said.
Frey said Trump "knows nothing about the strength of Minneapolis. We are strong as hell. Is this a difficult time period? Yes. But you better be damn sure we are going to get through this."
CLICK HERE FOR THE FOX NEWS APP
Wallace concluded, “I'm not sure that political people taking pop shots against each other helps the process. Anything that calms and persuades people that justice is going to get done, even if it takes a little longer than they want seems to me to be the only thing to do at this point.”
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox