Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) on Monday urged President Donald Trump to deploy active-duty military personnel to cities in the wake of nationwide protests over the killing of George Floyd—and hours later, the president responded, “Yes!” “The president should use the Insurrection Act to deploy active-duty military forces to these cities to support local law enforcement and ensure this violence ends tonight,” Cotton tweeted Monday. In a follow-up tweet, Cotton stated that the “anarchy, rioting, and looting needs to end tonight,” adding that “if local law enforcement is overwhelmed and needs backup, let’s see how tough these Antifa terrorists are when they’re facing off with the 101st Airborne Division.” At 9:49 p.m., Trump quote-tweeted Cotton’s tweet and wrote, “YES!”
On Sunday, Trump claimed that the U.S. government will designate “antifa” protesters as a terrorist organization after the president blamed them for riots across the country.
