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Lara Trump defends president encouraging "lock her up" chants about Michigan Gov. Whitmer

18 October 2020
Dan Ackermann

Trump senior campaign adviser Lara Trump defended President Trump's rhetoric about Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D), claiming that he was "having fun at a Trump rally" when encouraging "lock her up" chants.

Why it matters: Whitmer, who has faced criticism for her strict lockdown measures in response to the coronavirus pandemic, was the target of a kidnapping plot by anti-government militia groups. The president has continued to demand that Whitmer lift COVID restrictions, calling her a "dictator."

  • The governor's deputy digital director tweeted on Saturday that every time Trump attacks her at a rally, the "violent rhetoric toward her immediately escalates on social media."
  • Whitmer herself has said that Trump's rhetoric puts her and her family's lives in danger, accusing the president of "stoking distrust, fomenting anger and giving comfort to those who spread fear and hatred and division."

What they're saying: "Well, look, he wasn't doing anything, I don't think, to provoke people to threaten this woman at all. He was having fun at a Trump rally. And quite frankly, there are bigger issues than this right now for everyday Americans," Lara Trump said on CNN's "State of the Union" Sunday.

  • "People want to get the country reopened. They want to get back to work. Not only are we trying to make it through a pandemic, but think about all of the cancers that have gone unaddressed. Think about the kids that aren't in school who use school to get their one meal a day."
  • "There are issues at hand here that are bigger than just keeping everyone locked down. ... The president was at a rally. It's a fun, light atmosphere. Of course, he wasn't encouraging people to threaten this woman. That is ridiculous."

Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times

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Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.

Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.

The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.

  • The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.

What the transcripts say:

  • Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
  • The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
  • Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."

Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.