Congressman Anthony Brown: "President Trump Has Shown His Unfitness to Lead"

Statement

House Armed Services Committee Vice Chair and 30-year combat veteran, Congressman Anthony G. Brown (MD-04) released the following statement in response to President Trump's threat to have National Guardsmen shoot protesters in Minneapolis:

"President Trump has debased and tarnished the office of the presidency many times over his term. His late night threat to have national guardsmen open fire on protesters in Minneapolis is an unconscionable new low."

"President Trump has routinely abused the power and moral authority of his office. He has also routinely ordered and suggested our brave men and women who serve this country in the military--active and reserve forces and National Guard--act in ways inconsistent with their mission and uniform. When the Commander in Chief invokes racist rhetoric as a dog-whistle to confront Americans grappling with oppression and injustice, when he calls on our service members to perpetrate violence against the people they are sworn to protect - he shows his unfitness to lead."

"For 30-years, I served this country in uniform. I always knew what we were fighting for - the right to speak out and to protest without retribution, to live in an open and free society and for a country where diversity and inclusion are our greatest strengths. Unlike the men and women who have honorably served in uniform, President Donald Trump does not understand what our country stands for or the common creed that ties us all together. President Trump is unfit to be commander-in-chief and is actively making us less safe every day."

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