It has always been very clear what Trump's priorities are, but this statement puts them in an even starker light. He is using "thugs," a pejorative term that echoes the language of segregationists like George Wallace . He quoted Wallace, the former governor of Alabama and one of the country's most destructive racists, when he said in 1968, "When the looting starts, the shooting starts." He suggested that soldiers use violence against protestors who are calling for justice and the end of police killings of Black people. This is all while the man who kneeled on Floyd's neck, Derek Chauvin, has not been arrested, and none of the officers involved have been brought to justice. While peaceful protestors in Minneapolis have been tear gassed, and attacked with flash grenades and rubber bullets.