Monday on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” while insisting to “keep it peaceful,” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) called for more protests around the country as rioting is underway in Los Angeles tied to the Trump administration’s deportation effort.
The Connecticut Democrat lawmaker argued President Donald Trump was inciting behavior so he could invoke the Insurrection Act.
“I mean, my first message is to keep it peaceful,” Murphy declared. “I mean, obviously, this is a moment where we have to be on the streets all over the country to protest what’s happening to our immigrant community, but more broadly, to protest what’s happening to our democracy. This is the most corrupt administration in the history of the country, and we are going to rise to this moment by being out there on the streets.”
He continued, “But you know, ultimately, I think the country sees what Donald Trump is trying to do here. He’s looking for a fight. There’s nothing in what he is doing that is about peace or about restoring order. He’s taking a protest that is relatively isolated. You know, people in Los Angeles over the weekend would tell you that 99% of them went about their day, and it was pretty normal because this is not an invasion that has taken over the entire city. And he’s trying to turn a protest that is pretty small into something that involves an even bigger confrontation so that he might actually be able to invoke the Insurrection Act. That would be a defining story of the week if he were to do it, and I just don’t think — I think we have to make sure that we understand to not take him at his word. He’s looking for a fight. He’s not trying to calm tensions.”
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