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Don Lemon Tonight
President Trump Poses For Photo-Op; Insurrection Act To Be Imposed If Violence Continues; Curfew Set In New York; Protests Spark All Across The Country; Outrage Spreading After Peaceful Protesters Near White House Tear-Gassed So President Can Stage Church Photo-op; Protesters Shut Down Bridge In Dallas. Aired 10-11p ET
Aired June 01, 2020 - 22:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[22:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHRIS CUOMO, CNN HOST: But you want to play themes, that's fine. Because now, things start to makes sense. Finally. That's why the president says there are good people on both sides on Charlottesville. And in Michigan. The answer came today in another one of the demagogues' repertoire, just propaganda.
Listen to this and then we'll go.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAYLEIGH MCENANY, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I would also note that the president's long history of condemning white supremacy and racism.
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CUOMO: He has a history of being attached to discrimination. Housing. The Central Park Five. Birtherism. This is who he is. And this is not what we need right now. This is going to change because of people like you and me and the man coming up right now, D. Lemon. We will not be led out of this by anybody else.
DON LEMON, CNN HOST: Are we actually surprised? You're not surprised, are you?
CUOMO: Yes, because I believe in people at some point doing what is right when their office demands it. And I can be consistently disappointed by somebody in his position with the kind of guidance he has around him saying so many bad things so often.
LEMON: Guidance? Who?
CUOMO: There are smart people around him who know that he's not supposed to be saying what he said tonight.
LEMON: Like?
CUOMO: He's got advisers who know better. I know they do. LEMON: I'm not surprised by the actions. I'm surprised by what he
said. I should say the actions of how it all played out like a reality show. Not surprised by that. I'm surprised at -- that -- about sending the military out and that whole message where he comes off as a modern-day dictator.
CUOMO: That's just talk. He can't do any of that.
LEMON: OK, but still he would like to. That's his --
(CROSSTALK)
CUOMO: Right. He would like to but he can't.
LEMON: He's playing a role. But do you remember the day when we were told that this president was going to come out and say something about his role in birtherism and Barack Obama and that he was finally going to say I was wrong.
CUOMO: Yes.
LEMON: What have you. You know what he did for a long time? He promoted his hotels. He got the media to go live. Promoted his hotels, and the last thing he said was, OK, Barack Obama was born in this country, and then he left the stage. Did not take questions. Then he did that over and over and over. And guess what? The media kept falling for it over and over and over.
And that's why I said today that when you deal with someone like this, an administration like this, you have to be really careful about how you cover them and the strategy because they're always trying to play you. It's a show.
This is not about the American people. This is not about a democracy. This is about numero uno, Donald Trump. He is a showman. He is playing the media. He wants to be re-elected come November and nothing else matters. Doesn't care about police brutality.
Don't care about how minorities are treated in this country. Doesn't care about any of that. He doesn't even care about the people who are -- who love him and laugh, my gosh, Donald Trump. He doesn't care about those people. How many of those people can afford to stay in his hotels? None. Pretty much none of them.
So, he does not care about that. Before he was president, you knew him. Your family is from here. Your family grew up here. Did you see him hanging out with those kinds of people?
CUOMO: Nope.
LEMON: OK then, that answers your question. So, people who know him, people who are in the media should have known today that he was going for the law and order play. And all of it was coming together. Going to get the people in Washington, we're going to create a stir.
The attorney general is going to come out, he's going to look over the troops and then they're going to go in and this president is going to look strong for his what? People. For his constituents.
CUOMO: Well, he botched that last support.
LEMON: For the Trump supporters.
CUOMO: That was one of the most lame things I've ever seen --
LEMON: Yes.
CUOMO: -- what he did today. At the same time, he was saying he was allied with peaceful protesters.
LEMON: He was --
CUOMO: He had people smashing into them with Plexiglass shields and using tear gas on them.
LEMON: That shows he doesn't care.
CUOMO: At the same time, it was a lie in real time.
LEMON: Yes.
CUOMO: He timed it perfectly.
LEMON: Yes. The last time he went to church, didn't even go inside.
CUOMO: No.
LEMON: New Year's.
CUOMO: You know what they say about people afraid to walk inside a church.
LEMON: Yes.
CUOMO: He held up a bible, Don, outside a church that is known for social justice work in its community.
LEMON: Yes. We're going to talk about that. Didn't want him there. Two Corinthians. I'm sure he read it as he went in. Thank you very much, Chris. I'll see you tomorrow. Have a good night. I'll see you later on tonight, by the way.
CUOMO: Yes, sir. Love you, brother.
LEMON: All right. So, we've got a lot to cover.
This is "CNN TONIGHT." I'm Don Lemon.
Tonight, America, democracy or dictatorship? Democracy or dictatorship, America? It is your choice. And as we wait to see which it will be, there are curfews coast to coast as protests spread in American cities. And all over America's cities.
[22:05:05] This is what the Trump presidency has come to, what happened in our nation's capital. Our nation. Just a few hours ago it was really stunning. Peaceful protesters fired on with tear gas, rubber bullets, flash bangs to drive them out of Lafayette Park in Washington, D.C. The sound clearly heard in the Rose Garden as the president shamelessly proclaimed himself the president of law and order.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I am your president of law and order and an ally of all peaceful protesters. But in recent days our nation has been gripped by profession anarchists, violent mobs, arsonist, looters, criminals, rioters, Antifa and others.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Do not believe this man as he lies to your face. An ally of peaceful protesters? This is what happened just minutes before that. And in a minute, I'm going to tell you why.
Driving peaceful protesters out of Lafayette Park, tear gassing them in the streets, denying American citizens their rights to protest. And to make their voices heard. So, he could put on a show. Play acting the part of Mr. law and order.
And as his props, he will use the U.S. military that he is supposed to use to defend our citizens. What he wants is for his voters to see him standing on the steps of a church, apparently the image needs to have him scowling. It is the first time he's visited a church since Christmas Eve, by the way, and he didn't have permission to be there. Standing there with a bible in his hand, a bible that wasn't even his own.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is that your bible?
TRUMP: It's a bible.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Can I see that picture again, please? Can we see that again?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is that your bible?
TRUMP: It's a bible.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: It's a bible. What was -- what was that all about? With the bible. What he wants is for his voters to see him. Look at that. It's complete photo-op. Surrounded by his staff, all of them, by the way, as we see that all of them white. Look at that. The picture of diversity right there. Look at America. As he holds somebody's bible. He answered it for you.
The reporter said, is that your bible? It's a bible. While they were standing at that church, that they didn't even -- they didn't even bother to pray. They didn't pray for justice for the Floyd family. They didn't pray for wisdom for our leaders. They didn't pray for the strength to guide America through this moment of turmoil. They didn't pray for the more than 105,000 Americans dead from the coronavirus.
It was an empty and craven -- as empty and craven a gesture as you can get. As -- just as words can get. His words calling for healing not hatred. Those are the emptiest words I've ever heard. This is the president who demanded today that governors dominate protesters in their states. Whose secretary of defense talked about Americans and American cities as a battle space.
(BEGIN VOICE CLIP)
MARK ESPER, U.S. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: In my urging, I agree, we need to dominate the battlespace.
(END VOICE CLIP)
LEMON: The battlespace. The president claims that he is on the side of peaceful -- peaceful protesters. This is a president who called NFL players kneeling peacefully to protest police brutality and racial injustice.
Remember, and I'm quoting here, "sons of bitches."
The president is so empty, so petty, small. He thinks he's tough. He actually wants you to think that. He probably knows that deep down inside he is weak, that he is selfish, that he is a complete disappointment. That he never lives up to the office he holds. Probably why he always harkens back to the former president.
He wants to so much be like Barack Obama but he just can't buy class. He just can't buy the intelligence. He just can't buy the adoration of the American people.
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He was so upset about the reporting that he was rushed into the White House bunker during the protests on Friday night that he told aides that he wanted to be seen outside the White House gates and cooked up this disgraceful obvious, glaring stunt.
This, everyone, is a story of desperation. This president is desperate to hang on to power. The American people are desperate to be heard. A real leader would rise to the occasion here. Would listen to Americans' voices of protest. Really hear them. That would be a true sign of strength, a true sign of leadership, a true sign of a president.
And this president is proving again tonight just how weak he is. But he is a weak man who commands armies who orders states to dominate their citizens. Here is a prayer for you tonight. For all of us. Are you ready?
Everybody together. God help the United States of America. Amen.
CNN's Jason Carroll is in Brooklyn for us tonight at the Barclays Center. Jason, we saw some images tonight of peaceful protests. We also saw some looting in New York city earlier tonight. Tell us what is happening now.
JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we started at the Barclays Center and now we're in a section of Crown Heights, and the crowd has grown to, by our estimate, Don, of more than 1,000 people. You talked about people who wanted to have their voices heard. Whether or not 1,000 of them still marching right now through the streets of Brooklyn. Right now, in the section of Crown Heights.
And a little earlier, you know, there were speakers who were talking about the looting, talking about the vandalism and they said, look, we don't want our message to get lost here, so stop with that and keep with the member, but message, but as you know, in less than an hour from now, an 11 o'clock curfew is going to go into effect and so there have been a lot of questions about what's going to happen.
I've been talking to a lot of people out here and I said, look, what are you going to do, what are you going to do when 11 o'clock comes around? And they've made it very clear that they're going to keep having their message heard. But they also said they're going to wait to see what the police do.
And I said, what do you mean by that? And one of the young women out here said to me, well, given all that she has seen, a lot of them are waiting to see and will react in kind to whatever the police decide to do.
And as you know, last night there were, what, some 4,000 police officers out in the streets of New York. Tonight, that number is doubled. And city officials have already made it clear that anyone who is out here who is not considered essential will be placed under arrest. Charged with a misdemeanor. You could face, what, 90 days in jail.
But the people I've spoken to out here say, look, we are prepared to go to jail. We are prepared to do whatever we have to do to get our message out. And to make sure that we are heard. Don?
LEMON: Jason Carroll joining us from Brooklyn, New York. Jason, thank you so much. We also saw images, live images of Chicago up on your screen as well.
In the meantime, I want to get to Louisville, Kentucky and CNN's Evan McMorris-Santoro joins us now live from there. Evan, what are you seeing?
EVAN MCMORRIS-SANTORO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Don. How are you doing? Let me just set the scene for you here. Louisville, of course, is dealing with two of these tragic deaths that was up until this morning, of Breonna Taylor shot by police in March and then, of course, the George Floyd protest that has fueled so much around the country.
But this morning, early this morning there was another incident involving the death of a local barbecue purveyor, a well-known guy who also was shot in a police action. That's currently under state investigation. That led to protests.
There were that took place on the west side of town and here downtown where the protests have been going on as part of the George Floyd movement for quite a while.
Now, 9 o'clock was the curfew. Some people dissipated. Some people did not. And the police are starting to move in here to Jefferson Square. We've had some pepper balls fire, we've had some tear gas.
You know, the crowd wasn't doing anything really before the police moved in, except for being out after curfew, but once the police started to move, you did see some of the protesters throwing water bottles and things like that.
[22:14:54]
Now, this city is in the middle of trying to have a conversation about policing while this is going on. After the Breonna Taylor death, the mayor and police officials got together and decided that the no-knock warrant which was seen as being part of the reason why she died is now under investigation with new rules about how to use it.
And then this morning, following that death of David McAtee that I mentioned, the barbecue purveyor, the police body cams allegedly were not on and that led to the firing of the police chief. Now, the police chief was already set to retire at the end of June, but he has now been fired by the mayor.
So, complicated, but the end result is this city, which is gripped by the same protests everywhere else is, is trying to do police reform while this is going on. And, of course, right now we've seen the interactions between police and protesters that we've seen all across the country and there's tear gas and everything else. Don?
LEMON: Evan McMorris-Santoro in Louisville, thank you. We'll check back. I want to get to CNN's Kaitlan Collins now who joins us now from Washington.
Kaitlan, new reporting tonight as to why peaceful protests near the White House -- protesters, I should say. Why they were forcibly cleared out so the president could have a photo-op in front of a nearby church. What do you know about that?
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Don, it was about half an hour before the president came out to the Rose Garden, and we started seeing them -- they issued three really quick warnings to these protesters who were here in Lafayette Park. Lafayette Square. Standing here. No acts of violence or anything that we had seen from the eight hours or so that we'd been up here.
And then very quickly they moved them out of the way with tear gas, with flash bangs, batons, shields, the whole thing. And then the president spoke in in the Rose Garden. So, it seemed like those two were connected.
And then at the end of those remarks, Don, that's when he said he was going to go visit a special place. And he walked over to the St. John's Church, something I've never seen him do, walk out of the front doors of the White House and then come over here where he took pictures with his top aides.
And now we're learning from sources and what they told my colleague Kevin Liptak that the president was frustrated by media coverage of how he had been rushed to the bunker underground the White House on Friday night as these protests were breaking out in front of the White House. And he wanted to be seen outside the gates of the White House today.
And that is what played a part of a role in why the president made the decision to leave the White House and walk over to this church here behind us, which of course now is raising so many questions after these peaceful protesters had been pushed out of the way with tear gas and forced off of a blocked street so the president could walk over here to take those pictures with his top advisers.
LEMON: Kaitlan, I want -- I want you to just stand by for me because we're looking at pictures, live pictures from Washington, D.C. where protesters are throwing rocks and -- they are getting in the face of our photojournalist who is on the scene there. I'm not exactly sure where this shot is. I know it is in D.C. and you can see the capitol in the foreground, in the distance there. And I'm sure not too terribly far from --
(CROSSTALK)
COLLINS: Yes, they're not over here by the White House anymore.
LEMON: I'm sure not too terribly far from where you are, Kaitlan, but not too terribly close either. But, again, that's the scene in Washington, D.C. You can see the window there. As soon as they focus up. Has been smashed. The window has been smashed. And we'll continue to follow these pictures.
So, Kaitlan, talk to me about -- about the president's announcement threatening a military crackdown in states on the same day that he called governors weak.
COLLINS: Yes. Earlier he berated governors on that call, saying that they were weak, that they weren't doing enough to crack down on protesters who were turning violent, where it's becoming riots, where they are breaking windows of offices, lighting cars on fire, looting, things of that nature.
And so, he basically vowed in the Rose Garden that if governors don't do enough, he is going to get involved, and that means the military is going to get involved. And that's what he was threatening there in the Rose Garden earlier. The question is how does that materialize? Earlier we know he said he'd put the chairman of the joint chiefs of
staff in charge, though later the press secretary did not elaborate on exactly what that meant. But basically, the president is threatening to invoke the Insurrection Act.
And so what that looks like and whether or not this actually comes to where military force is used in the United States of America, something that, of course, is not typical unless you see, like, a hurricane or something of that nature, but that's what the president is threatening and that was his message tonight as he came out to the Rose Garden.
But what's notable is he's talking about the protests that are turning violent. The ones that are turning into riots. He said he's an ally of peaceful protests, but, of course, Don, we saw what happened to the peaceful protest that was happening outside of the White House just a few hours ago.
LEMON: Kaitlan Collins joining us from Washington. Kaitlan, stand by. If need be, we'll get back to you. Again, we're looking at live pictures from Washington, D.A. And these are protesters who are violating the curfew. It's a shaky shot. Don't necessarily have control of this camera.
[22:20:06]
But, again, these are protesters who are out violating the curfew in D.C. The president saying earlier that obviously sending out members of the military and the National Guard. Promising force for these Americans who are out on the street.
Most of them peacefully protesting. Some of them obviously, as you are seeing, breaking the law and -- and damaging property as they should not be. And this is the seventh night that this is happening.
And, again, but the president promising order. We will see if that order maintains this evening and into the future. It appears that they have -- that tear gas has been fired into this small crowd of protesters. This is just north of the capitol. But, again, we will keep our eye on these pictures.
I want to get to CNN's Senior Legal Analyst Preet Bharara to weigh in on all of this.
Preet, good evening to you. I'm so glad that you could join us here. Listen, the president is threatening to invoke the Insurrection Act of 1807 if violence continues. What is this and is this legal?
PREET BHARARA, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: So, you know, sometimes the President of the United States says things that are nonsensical and don't make any sense legally and doesn't have a leg to stand on. That happened, for example, this past weekend when he said in a tweet that he was going to designate antifa as a terrorist organization.
Anyone who knows anything about the prosecution of terrorism understand there's is no legal mechanism for doing that. It doesn't change the way that federal prosecutors can do their job or the intelligence community can. No legal leg to stand on there, just a stunt and a bit of rhetoric in a tweet.
On this, I see a lot of people are getting this wrong on social media and other places. He does have a legal leg to stand on. Everyone understands that generally speaking in this country you don't deploy military forces to enforce local laws. We don't like that.
That's what they do in some other countries and we're not that kind of a country, but we also provide for flexibility in our system so that in certain limited circumstances, as provided for in the Insurrection Act, as you mentioned, from 1807, that in certain limited circumstances, if certain conditions are met, the president can call upon the military to enforce local laws.
The last time it was used was 28 years ago in 1992 after the Rodney King incident and situation in Los Angeles. And that situation local authorities asked for the federal government to come in. It was pinpointed. It was local. It was narrow and it was targeted. It was for a limited time.
There are two other provisions of the Insurrection Act that allow a president of the United States to bring in the military if, for example, it's needed to put down what is called in the statute on insurrection or domestic violence or in another circumstance, if federal or state laws are being stymied or being -- not being able to be enforced.
That, in fact, was a provision that was used by President Eisenhower and President John F. Kennedy back in the '50s and '60s to enforce civil rights law. So, it may be toxic, it may be grandstanding, it may be not smart, it may be divisive, but the president does have some leg to stand on to call in the military. Although on the other hand, it's the kind of things that he threatens all the time and doesn't necessarily follow through on.
LEMON: Preet Bharara, our time is short. Thank you very much. We appreciate it. I need to continue to follow the breaking news here.
This is the breaking news coming out of Washington and out of many states, many -- excuse me, many cities all over the country. Peaceful protests near the White House earlier really disrupted by the President of the United States himself.
We're watching these pictures. I'm told this is just north of the capitol. We see folks on the ground who have -- who are defying the curfew orders of the District of Columbia and they are on the streets after 10 p.m. Eastern. Really, after 9 p.m. Eastern. And there you see law enforcement out trying to get these people off of the streets.
We will continue to follow these breaking -- this breaking news and these images from cities all across the country. We're back right after a quick break.
[22:25:00]
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LEMON: All right. As we go back on the air right now, these are live pictures from Oakland, California right now. Oakland, California, courtesy of our affiliate KGO.
A fairly sizeable crowd in the middle of the street there. We'll watch these pictures and see if it remains peaceful or if there are some flare-ups. We have our eye on several cities around the United States this evening. Peaceful protesters near the White House hit with tear gas and rubber bullets tonight.
Also, president Trump could walk across the street for a photo-op at the historic St. John's Church. The church's basement caught fire during the protests last night.
And joining me now to discuss all of this is the church's director Reverend Robert Fisher. Thank you so much for joining us, Reverend. We appreciate it.
ROBERT FISHER, DIRECTOR, ST. JOHN'S CHURCH: Thank you, thank you for having me.
LEMON: You said that St. John's has been open every Sunday until COVID, but how often has the president come to worship?
FISHER: So, I've been at St. John's just since June of last year, mid- June and he hasn't been since that time. His last time attending church on a Sunday was actually on St. Patrick's Day of 2019.
LEMON: OK. So the president said that he was going to pay respects at St. John's after it was damaged last night, but he didn't go inside, he didn't say a prayer, he posed for the cameras holding a bible and they tear gassed people to clear the way for him to do that? Give me your reaction to that.
FISHER: It's a surreal day for me and for my parishioners, I believe. We have a long history and I don't think we've ever seen anything quite like this.
[22:30:02]
You know, when we opened up more than 200 years ago, we have then a place of civility, but most importantly prayer and to be seen just as a backdrop really caught me by surprise. It was really, you know, just kind of shocking, you know? We had no warning that this was going to happen, and it troubles me deeply that people were removed from a peaceful protest right on our square by tear gas.
LEMON: So --
FISHER: And I will add that I was with all the clergy of St. John's and other clergy from our diocese with the protesters and it was -- it was beautiful and it was actually a spirit-filled time.
LEMON: OK. So, he -- they announced he is -- he does all this with the protesters that you were actually with and then he makes his way over to -- you had no idea and you're the Director?
FISHER: No idea.
LEMON: Nothing? OK.
No, no idea.
FISHER: No idea.
LEMON: And so you were with them. Because that is the thing that we were noticing at home. We are not on the ground. But you were on the ground. What we could see from the pictures was that it was very peaceful until the Attorney General came out and it got close to the time the President was going to come out and then all of a sudden, pardon the word, all hell broke loose.
And what do you think -- what do you make of the President using the church really as a political tool to make a political point? Do you believe that he should use a sacred space to make a political point in front of the cameras and in front of the world?
FISHER: It's just not what we're about. Plain and simple. Yes.
LEMON: Right before he crossed the street, he said that he was calling thousands and really thousands of military into the streets. Is that a particularly Christian thing to do?
FISHER: You know, we believe in respecting the dignity and worth of every human being. And I believe that that is the only way forward is to demonstrate that in a bigger way. And what you just described is not demonstrating that.
LEMON: You have said that the church damage can be repaired and that you're praying for the country to heal after the trauma of George Floyd's death. What message would you like to send to protesters tonight, reverend?
FISHER: I pray that the message gets heard. I pray that the message that is being put out bravely by people who are tired, understandably, I pray that the message will not fall on deaf ears and that takes something to change. Because right now it's understandable that people are feeling that no one is listening and nobody cares.
LEMON: What's your prayer tonight?
FISHER: I pray for healing. We've talked a lot about sickness in this country because of covid. We've talked a lot about racism because it is a reality we have to -- I want to talk -- start shifting so that our hearts are moving towards the cure, which is the healing that I believe as a spiritual person is what we -- what we -- what we have to find, what we have to work for.
LEMON: Reverend, thank you. I appreciate it. Be safe.
FISHER: Thank you.
LEMON: I'm going to go to CNN's Ed Lavandera. We'll check in with him now in Dallas, Texas. Ed, you're on a bridge. What's going on?
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Don. Well, we are on the Margaret Hunt-Hill Bridge which is just west of downtown Dallas where it is a massive scene. Protesters have shut down the bridge here. What is interesting is that this started off as a peaceful protest on the steps of the county courthouse here in Dallas and then just they started marching and there is a curfew zone that is set up around downtown Dallas.
The marchers have been skirting the edge of that curfew zone and then turned on to this bridge, and that is where they were met by hundreds of law enforcement officers and these protesters. It is essentially almost like a scene of civil disobedience at this point.
As you can see, the protesters here on the ground. Hundreds of officers have detained many of these protesters using zip ties. Most of them are being seated. Others here at the end of the bridge are still being processed as they are being detained here on the bridge. That is what Dallas police are saying.
But this bridge is essentially shut down as these protesters were moving peacefully throughout much of the evening. There was a confrontation here. Tear gas -- several tear gas canisters were fired off here, Don, as the officers moved in from the west side of the bridge and the marchers were going toward them. And the showdown happened here in the middle of this bridge. And this is where it has all come to ahead. From what I can tell, I don't get any sense that people were injured in this confrontation.
[22:35:00]
The protesters are peacefully sitting down. They've been detained. This group you see just beyond the ridge here and the railing, this is on the other side of this highway. Is where most of them are being seated. I presume that there will be a large truck to gather and move these protesters away from this bridge.
As I mentioned off the top, there is a curfew in place that was in place at -- it ended at -- it started at 7:00 p.m. Central Time, but that is only for certain zones of downtown Dallas, so we are outside of that curfew zone that was set up by the City of Dallas earlier or yesterday and has extended into today as well, but that is the scene right here, Don, where this bridge completely shut down by the protesters, and in the process of being detained.
LEMON: So, Ed, quick question for you. If this is outside of the curfew zone, were these protesters peaceful? And also, we're looking at pictures now -- stand by -- stand by, Ed. Don't go anywhere. We're looking at a --
LAVANDERA: Sure.
LEMON: -- pictures in Los Angeles. A police officer chasing someone through an L.A. neighborhood. The officer running there, losing his cap. The protester running mask on, losing his -- his property as well. There you see the police -- ooh. Police officers caught up with him. The protester's head hit the
bumper of that car. That must have hurt. And they are putting those zip ties on him or her. It appears to be a him from this vantage point, but I don't know. I'm just going to say him for now.
But this is a -- one of the scenes -- one of the conflicts playing out in cities all across the country. And this is where it started, in this parking lot, which appears to be a supermarket of a store of some type. I can't tell. These pictures are being controlled by our affiliate chopper KTLA, and so they have control over the images.
And there is someone else in zip ties there as well. And so, again, some of the conflict that is playing out -- and there -- if you -- next to that police car you'll see someone else on the ground. That was just -- that is just -- and they just stood up.
This -- the possibility here, the probability, I should say, is probably looting at this point. I don't want to say that for sure. But I don't see a crowd of people. I don't see people holding signs. I don't see a group of people kneeling or chanting. So, we will say that is the probability.
Back to Ed Lavandera joining us in Dallas with my question. Ed, so if you're outside of the curfew zone, were these protesters peaceful? And if they were, then what did they do to be detained?
LAVANDERA: Well, this -- to back up a little bit here, Don. This started about a half mile away from here. This is where they had been doing a peaceful -- the peaceful protests and then they just started marching down the street.
We don't know the exact reason for what the official reason is, I should say, for why they're being detained, but I presume it's going to have to -- it's going to be related to marching on the public streets here and essentially blocking traffic on to the Margaret Hunt- Hill Bridge where we're standing in the middle of right now.
But we have not heard any kind of official description from Dallas police or Texas Department of Public Safety, which is the state troopers here in the state of Texas.
And I should point out that since the violence erupted and the protests erupted on Friday night, extended into Saturday night as well, Sunday night was by and large extremely peaceful and quiet. Thousands of state troopers and Dallas police basically surrounding downtown Dallas and blocking it off to protesters.
Today those -- and that was an area that was shut down by the curfew yesterday, and that is why you saw the protesters today gathering outside of those curfew lines. And doing their protest earlier today just a short while ago. And this protest had been marching for just a few minutes, essentially. They had gone about a half hour.
LEMON: OK.
LAVANDERA: I mean about a half mile. In fact, we can turn around here, Don. You can see the Reunion Tower Ball, the iconic downtown skyline image, that building that you might see the shadow of right in front of that building, that is the county jail and the county courthouse where all of this started and they started marching down the street here to the left and then wound their way up here on to this bridge where everything has now been shut down. Don?
LEMON: Ed Lavandera following the breaking news for us in Dallas, Texas. Ed, we will check back. Stay safe.
The President threatening to invoke military force if local officials don't crack down on the protests over the death of George Floyd. The former NATO supreme allied commander weighs in along with former police and secret service officials as we watch these pictures from Los Angeles.
[22:40:04]
A very heavy military force, law enforcement force on the ground there in Los Angeles. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: President Trump threatening to mobilize the military to crack down on protests, whether states want it or not. I want to discuss now with CNN military analyst General Wesley Clark, the former NATO supreme allied commander. Cedric Alexander, the former President of the National Organization of Black Law Executives. And CNN law enforcement analyst Jonathan Wackrow, a former secret service agent.
Gentlemen, I'm so happy to have you on to discuss what's happening in the country right now. Thank you so much. General, I will start with you. I've got to get your reaction to what happened at the White House tonight. Did you ever think that you'd see troops used to suppress peaceful protests like this?
RET. GEN. WESLEY CLARK, FORMER NATO SUPREME ALLIED COMMANDER: Terrible. Outrageous. Pure political theater. Total misuse of the United States armed forces. Embarrassing. And not only that, it's embarrassing abroad. It's being used by our adversaries against us. It's a perfect example of how President Trump does what he thinks is his -- in his interest at the expense of what's in America's interest.
[22:45:08]
LEMON: So, earlier my colleague Chris Cuomo said I'm surprised that he actually did that, he has some smart people around him advising him. But the question is, OK, fine, whatever you think of that, he does have -- he does have very experienced members of the military around him advising him. Why would they allow him to go out and do this? Is -- does -- is it -- can they not say no to the commander-in-chief?
CLARK: Well, in this case, no, they probably couldn't say no. Look, he wanted an expensive parade with tanks to tear up the streets of Washington, D.C. and that took months to dissuade him. And Jim Mattis, the Secretary of Defense, did that. He then deployed forces down to the border which were unnecessary and wasted during the Christmas holiday period. And now he is used the military in this way.
The armed forces takes the orders, as long as they're legal, of the President of the United States. That is their charge. So they're captive. And, Don, I hope the American people will appreciate this. The senior leadership in the armed forces, I think they know very well they're being played politically.
Maybe the troops don't all understand it. There may be troops out there that say, yes, those looters are bad and I signed up and I want to do something to stop it. Fine. But the senior leadership know they're being played. This is a misuse of the armed forces. It's really up to Congress and the American electorate to put a stop to it.
LEMON: As we keep our eyes on the -- this live pictures coming out of Los Angeles, I want to go now to Cedric Alexander. And Cedric, I may have to cut you off just to describe what's going on.
I'm not sure if you can see air, but this is a -- a U.S. city, and we're seeing a number of U.S. cities look -- looking like militarized zones. I want to play this amazing moment at a protest. This one is in New York City. Where things got tense, OK? And then the police chief, Chief Terence Monahan, addressed the crowd. You have to watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHIEF TERENCE MONAHAN, NEW YORK CITY: There is not a police officer over here that thinks Minnesota was justified. We stand with you on that. But this is our city. Our City. Do not let people who are not from this city --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That is a fact.
MONAHAN: -- have you come here and screw up your city.
(APPLAUSE)
(CHEERS)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Take a knee. Take a knee.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You got it. You got it. All right. Thank you for supporting us. We got to continue supporting each other.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Respect.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: So, police officers are taught to de-escalate. This is a police officer doing that. We have seen excessive force from police at protests, but we've also seen some really positive moments like that one. Would deploying the military just make things worse? Is this not -- don't we need more of this instead of seeing militarized cities right now?
CEDRIC ALEXANDER, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Absolutely, Don. There's no question about it. You know, there are a number of chiefs and sheriffs around this country, a few of them, that certainly are demonstrating this same type of comradery people are beginning to show with their communities just as much as they do with their men and women.
And that is what the people in the community want, they really want to be joined with their police department. They want to feel a sense of trust. They want to feel that they're legitimate, which really means I trust you. This chief here, it took a lot of courage, it took a lot of feelings. He is a compassionate man. And he knows what's good for his city and for his community. We need more of that.
But we need them to do it all the time. Not just in the space now, but all the time. But let me add one other thing, too, Don. This case here with George Floyd, it is (inaudible) all of us to recognize that it was wrong. It is easy. It doesn't take a whole lot of courage to recognize what happened that day was wrong.
It's the other cases, Don, OK, that we need to have the same amount of courage about as law enforcement officials to stand up. And when you see something wrong to do just what we're doing right now. Where it may not be as easy to make that determination, but we need to make sure we join communities such as what we're seeing here tonight.
LEMON: Yes, that was Chief Terence Monahan. My only concern about that was the lack of social distancing. I love the hug. But we're still in the COVID era. I just wish that they were wearing masks, maybe some gloves and a little maybe an arm bump or something.
[22:50:03]
But I love what happened there. That was a great moment. Jonathan, I want to bring you in. Secret service says their number one priority, that is to protect the President.
What kind of tough situation are they in right now? The President the other day was talking about how many vicious dogs and weapons they could use on protestors. Is that right?
JONATHAN WACKROW, FORMER SECRET SERVICE AGENT: Well, listen, what that was -- that is politicizing the protection of the President. That is not helpful at this time period. It just distracts from the core mission that the women and men of the secret service have to execute on every single day. In moments of a crisis and in moments of peace, they are still charged with protecting the President and the first family and other political leaders.
So, that type of rhetoric makes their job, you know, more challenging. Because it increases the threat profile if the President. You know, we see that when the president speaks, you know, his rhetoric does draws, you know, the heir of a lot of people.
They come down to the White House, they protest. But the one thing is a fact, is that the secret service working with their law enforcement partners such as the U.S. park police and the metropolitan police in Washington D.C. have a very coordinated effort on how to deal with, you know political protests that is part of our Democratic process every single day.
Unfortunately, what we have seen over the last 72 hours is, you know, the strain being put upon the law enforcement not only at the White House, but across the United States.
LEMON: All right, Jonathan Wackrow, thank you. General, thank you. Cedric, I appreciate it as well. We'll see you guys soon. And you all stay safe.
Just before Jonathan Wackrow finished, we were looking at pictures at from KGO, our affiliate there in San Francisco, Oakland area. These are images from KL-KCBL in Los Angeles. And you can see there, members of the --I believe that is a National Guard. Correct me if I'm wrong. I know you probably have a very giant large television at home, but mine is actually surprisingly small here in the televisions studio.
This is KGO in Oakland, California. And we saw some folks running earlier and the throwing of some objects. On this particular corner where we see law enforcement, it appears to be under control. We hope it stays that way. Many cities around the country are under curfew orders. We will see if protestors follow those orders as we continue on here tonight.
New York's curfew starting in just a few minutes, by the way. And well are going to go live to our reporters on the streets, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[22:55:00]
LEMON: So, curfew in cities across the country tonight as President Trump threatens to use military force if governors don't crack down on violence in their states. His Rose Garden announcement coming as peaceful protesters were tear gassed and shot with rubber bullets just outside the White House. All for a Presidential photo op.
Let's discuss now with David Gregory. Do we want to get to Jason first, before we go to David Gregory or, no? OK. David Gregory, we are going to standby. David Gregory and Douglas, let's standby. Let's get to Douglas Brinkley, David standby, we'll see you guys momentarily. Hold on.
I want to get to Jason Carroll, because we have something going on where Jason is. So, pardon me, viewers. But this happens Jason Carroll, in Brooklyn, where are you, Jason and what are you seeing?
JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Don, at this point this crowd of nearly 1,000 people now hitting back to the Barkley Center. And as you know within just a few minutes at 11:00 that curfew is expected to kick in. Where everyone is basically supposed to be home. Unless essential.
We have been talking to a number of people saying out here on the crowd and they say there's no was that they're going home. And as you can see from the number of people behind me, a thousand people. So in talking to some of these protestors I say what are you going to do going forward> And what they are saying is they are going to wait to see what the police reaction is.
And based on that, that is going to determine how they proceed going further. But look, we're just now Don, a few minutes away from 11:00. When that curfew kicks in. Still we have thousands of people in the streets here in Brooklyn, now heading over to the Barclay Center. So, we're just waiting to see how that all is going to play out.
LEMON: Hey, Jason, your shot is a little fuzzy, but from the sounds of it, at least, there are a lot of people there. How many people do you think are in this protest?
CARROLL: Don, I would say just from our estimate. From our advantage point, I'd say about a thousand people. Definitely about a 1,000 people Several hundred to 1,000 people, still out here in the streets. Heading to the Barclay Center at this point. And again, I keep trying -- in New York. It's supposed to kick in at 11:00. And so the question then becomes what's going to happen to all these people who are still out here in the street?
And when I spoke to a number of the folks here who are part of the demonstration, they say look, this has been peaceful so far. The number of them who say they want this to continue to be peaceful. But then you just hear chants just a short while ago were people say basically, excuse my language but, but F -- the curfew. And so, now that the curfew is -- how many minutes away are we to the curfew?
LEMON: We have one minute, Jason.
CARROLL: We have one minute away.
LEMON: So, Jason, here's what we are going to do. We are going to keep your shot up. We want you to stay with us. While we are also going to bring someone else in in New York. So, Jason, we are going to talk to you and Shimon Prokupecz. So, just keep the shot up and keep listening to us. OK. So, we lost Shimon. Again, technology breaking news. So, Jason -- we'll stay with you now.
So, Jason, we're coming up on just about 30 seconds left for curfew. So, we have no idea what's going to happen if they are going to start arresting people. If they are going to continue to allow them to protest. What's going to go on. But is this march you're with now peaceful?
CARROLL: Look, I would say there are still trying to move out of the way here, still about 1,000 people from our vantage point who are in the streets here. And what they're doing is Don, they are saying they want to keep demonstrating through this curfew. So, you've got a lot of people here were saying that is what they're going to do.
