Foreign media: Pence and other senior officials from the US government showed up in Washington to comfort the National Guard and were greeted with boos when distributing burgers
According to reports from the Guardian and other media outlets, US Vice President Pence and other senior government officials visited Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling in Washington, DC on the afternoon of the 20th local time to comfort National Guard soldiers. While distributing burgers to the soldiers, they were greeted with boos from protesting crowds who also shouted slogans such as “Liberate Washington”.
The report stated that Pence was joined by US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Deputy White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller at a burger shop inside the station. Pence said to the soldiers, “We appreciate everything you’ve done” and claimed, “We’ve brought back some law and order.”
At the same time, a group of demonstrators were protesting outside.
On the 20th local time, Pence (right), Austin (center), and Stephen Miller (left) comforted National Guard soldiers at the Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling in Washington, DC. Image source: US media.
The Guardian described the protesting crowd shouting slogans such as “Liberate Washington!” and “From Washington to Palestine, occupation is a crime”. As Pence and his team entered the station and gathered in the aforementioned restaurant, some protesters used vulgar language. The boos persisted until they left, even when Pence, Austin, and Miller tried to engage in conversation.
In response to the protests, Pence said, “It’s kind of ridiculous. A group of mostly older white people are protesting policies that ensure the safety of the people, while they themselves have never experienced danger in their lives.” He also quoted a protester’s slogan, saying, “Let’s liberate Washington, DC, so young families can go out freely and feel safe and secure. That’s what liberating Washington means.”
The Guardian mentioned that Pence’s view was echoed by Miller, who said, “We will ignore these foolish white hippies. They should all go home to bed because they are all over 90 years old.”
Since US President Trump returned to the White House earlier this year, he has repeatedly criticized issues such as frequent violent crimes and a large number of stray people in Washington, blamed the local government for poor governance, and advocated for the federal government to fully intervene in managing Washington, DC. On August 11st, Trump announced the deployment of the first 800 National Guard troops to Washington and a series of measures such as the federal government taking over the Washington Metropolitan Police Department. The government of Washington, DC opposed this, and Mayor Bowser described the measures as “disturbing” and “unprecedented.” With the addition of National Guard troops from multiple states, the total number of troops planned to be deployed now exceeds 2,000, with about 1,300 having arrived in Washington, DC.
Trump declares his intention to “liberate the capital”.