International
Trump floated shooting protesters in legs: ex-defense secretary
AFP
Donald Trump vented fury at protesters outside the White House in 2020, saying “Can’t you just shoot them?” according to then defense secretary Mark Esper in book excerpts released Monday.
Esper wrote that he sat in the Oval Office with “the president red faced and complaining loudly about the protests under way in Washington” over the police killing of a Black man.
“Can’t you just shoot them? Just shoot them in the legs or something?” Trump is quoted as saying in a preview of Esper’s memoir seen by the Axios news website.
The protests, which were marked by violence as protesters clashed with security forces, were part of a nationwide wave of demonstrations in the wake of the May 2020 killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police.
Esper’s account appeared to confirm previous reports of Trump arguing that the military should intervene to quell the spiraling civil unrest.
An earlier book by journalist Michael Bender quoted sources saying the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley, argued with Trump against using the military as the president demanded a stronger response.
Bender had quoted Trump as saying “shoot them in the leg — or maybe the foot… but be hard on them!”
US Park Police and National Guard troops deployed tear gas and flash bangs to clear protesters outside the White House.
Esper publicly stated at the time that he opposed invoking the Insurrection Act, a rarely-used 200-year-old law which permits troops to be actively deployed within the United States.
His stance reportedly enraged Trump, and he was sacked in November 2020.
Axios said Esper’s book, which will be released on May 10, had been vetted by the Pentagon and reviewed by generals and cabinet members.
It quotes Esper describing a “surreal” atmosphere in Trump’s inner circle, with the idea of troops opening fire on Americans “weighing heavily in the air.”
“I had to figure out a way to walk Trump back without creating the mess I was trying to avoid,” he wrote in the memoir called “A Sacred Oath.”
International
Man arrested after deliberately driving into seven children in Osaka
Japanese police arrested a man on Thursday after he rammed his car into a group of seven schoolchildren in an apparent deliberate attack in the city of Osaka.
The children, who were on their way home from school, sustained injuries and were taken to the hospital. All seven remained conscious, according to local authorities.
An Osaka police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the suspect is a 28-year-old man from Tokyo. The officer shared statements the man made after his arrest: “I was fed up with everything, so I decided to kill people by driving into several elementary school children,” the suspect reportedly said.
The man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.
The injured children, aged between seven and eight, included a seven-year-old girl who suffered a fractured jaw. The six other children—all boys—suffered minor injuries such as bruises and scratches and were undergoing medical evaluation.
Witnesses described the car as “zigzagging” before hitting the children. One witness told Nippon TV that a girl was “covered in blood” and the others appeared to have scratches.
Another witness said the driver, who was wearing a face mask, looked to be in shock when school staff pulled him from the vehicle.
Violent crimes are rare in Japan, though serious incidents do occur from time to time. In 2008, Tomohiro Kato drove a two-ton truck into pedestrians in Tokyo’s Akihabara district, then fatally stabbed several victims. Seven people were killed in that attack.
Internacionales
Clashes erupt during may day protests across France amid calls for better wages
May Day protests in France were marked by a heavy police presence and clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement in several cities.
In Paris, Lyon, and Nantes, thousands took to the streets to demand better wages, fairer working conditions, and to voice their dissatisfaction with President Emmanuel Macron’s government.
While the majority of the demonstrations remained peaceful, isolated confrontations broke out in some areas. Protesters threw objects at the police, prompting the use of tear gas and resulting in several arrests.
Videos showing police crackdowns circulated widely on social media, drawing criticism from labor unions and human rights advocates, who denounced the authorities’ response to the protests.
International
Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem claimed that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has deported “more than half a million” migrants due to pressure from former President Donald Trump.
During a cabinet meeting highlighting the “achievements” of Trump’s administration in its first 100 days, Noem asserted that under the Republican leader’s influence, “Mexico has finally come to the table” to negotiate on migration and fentanyl trafficking.
“The president of Mexico told me she has returned just over half a million people before they reached our border,” Noem stated, criticizing media reports that suggest the Biden administration deported more migrants than Trump’s.
“I wish those deportations were counted,” Noem added, “because those people never made it to our border—she sent them back because you made her.” She went on to thank Trump: “They never made it here because they got the message—because you were so aggressive.”
Noem has made controversial claims about Sheinbaum in the past, prompting the Mexican leader to refute them.
On April 1, Sheinbaum responded to one such statement by declaring, “The president answers to only one authority, and that is the people of Mexico,” after Noem said on Fox News that she gave Sheinbaum “a list of things Trump would like to see” and that Mexico’s actions would determine whether Trump granted tariff relief.
Man arrested after deliberately driving into seven children in Osaka
Clashes erupt during may day protests across France amid calls for better wages
Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president
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