DC Mayor Muriel Bowser responded to President Donald Trump in a tweet, after the latter complained during his rally in Tulsa about protesters removing and burning a statue of Confederate General Albert Pike in the District.
“They ripped down a statue that was 110-years-old. Beautiful piece of art. In front of a police precinct with our radical left mayor watching on television,” Trump said on Saturday, adding that the damage would cost the city a lot and he was not happy about it.
He also asserted that DC was asking the federal government for money very often.
Bowser tweeted on Sunday that she and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez were “living in his head.” She said that there was “a lot of empty room in there” and it was “just like tonight’s half empty Tulsa arena,” pointing out the low turnout at the president’s rally in Tulsa.
I see @AOC and I are living in his head, and apparently there’s a lot of empty room in there… just like tonight’s half empty Tulsa arena.
— Muriel Bowser (@MurielBowser) June 21, 2020
An exchange of words between Trump and Bowser have been going on over the past few weeks. Bowser condemned the president’s remarks on protesters who took to the streets around the District in the wake of the killing of George Floyd at the hands of a police officer.
Trump dispatched federal law enforcement officers and National Guard troops to disperse the protesters a few days later. It was followed by the June 1 police intervention on peaceful demonstrators in Lafayette Park near the White House for Trump to walk to St. John’s Episcopal Church for a photo op.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of the District of Columbia sued President Trump and other top federal officials on behalf of the protesters who were exposed to tear gas and rubber bullets during the incident. The lawsuit accuses the defendants of violating the protesters’ constitutional rights.
Bowser demanded the withdrawal of federal forces and later ordered a street mural of the “Black Lives Matter” message in giant yellow letters on 16th Street near the White House.
ACLU Sues Trump Administration for Firing Tear Gas on Protesters in DC