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Protesters did not even spare statue of Mahatma Gandhi: Donald Trump

New Delhi
September 19, 2020

US President Donald Trump has said that the protesters, who went violent in the aftermath of the death of African American George Floyd, did not spare even the statue of Mahatma Gandhi in Washington DC, describing the demonstrators as a "bunch of thugs".

Floyd died in Minneapolis on May 25 after white police officer Derek Chauvin handcuffed and pinned him to the ground and knelt on his neck for more than eight minutes while the 46 year old from Houston gasped for breath.

The footage which went viral showed Floyd pleading with the officer, saying he can't breathe. His death sparked nationwide violent protests with some protesters resorting to vandalism, looting and rioting across the country, leaving behind a trail of destruction.

"You know, they started ripping down Abraham Lincoln. When they hit Lincoln, I said wait a minute. This is the man and you can do - then they hit George Washington, Thomas Jefferson. They had everybody," Trump said at a well attended election rally in Minnesota, a State that he lost by a little over 44,000 votes in 2016, on Friday.

Also mentioned about the statue of Gandhi in Washington DC that was vandalized by unknown miscreants at the peak of the nationwide protests.

"They even had Gandhi. All Gandhi wanted was one thing, peace. Right. We have peace. Rip down his statue. We don't like him. I don't think they have any idea what they're doing," Trump said.