Cotton: ‘We Cannot Tolerate Violence, Rioting, Looting, Arson’ in Our Streets

Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) on Tuesday reacted to President Donald Trump’s visit to Kenosha, WI, to meet with law enforcement and local leaders following a week of violent protests. The protests in Kenosha stemmed from an officer-involved shooting.

Cotton, on Fox News Channel’s “America’s Newsroom,” praised Trump’s response to criticize Wisconsin Gov. Tony Ever’s (D) slow action to prevent violence. He also emphasized that the United States “cannot tolerate violence, rioting, looting, arson” that has been seen in some of the country’s major cities.

“The president, like [me] and most Americans support law enforcement in trying to defend innocent lives and property from these rampaging mobs in the street,” Cotton outlined. “We cannot tolerate violence, rioting, violence, looting, arson that we have seen in places like Portland and Chicago and now smaller towns like Kenosha. So, the president is going to Kenosha today to thank law enforcement and comfort many of those small businessmen and businesswomen who have had their life’s work go up in flames over the last week. The president is right that the Democratic governor of Wisconsin acted too slowly. He should have called out the National Guard to support the Kenosha Police Department in protecting innocent lives and property from the very beginning last Sunday. He only did so after three days. That resulted in so much damage and even more lives lost. So, I join the president in commending our law enforcement and, where necessary, our National Guard to help protect the lives of our citizens and their property.”

Cotton went on to warn against a Joe Biden presidency, saying his administration would “not crackdown on the violent mobs that we see in our streets.”

Follow Trent Baker on Twitter @MagnifiTrent