Rev. Al Sharpton quickly pointed the finger at President Donald Trump on Wednesday after two National Guard soldiers were shot and critically wounded on Thanksgiving Eve.
Officials say two National Guardsmen were shot near 17th and I Street NW on Wednesday afternoon, prompting a rapid police response and a brief lockdown of the area. During a segment on “Deadline: White House,” Sharpton said that the guardsmen were placed “in harm’s way” because of Trump’s policies.
“Matter of two people fighting for their lives, guardsmen, that this president put there. And as I said, I was one that was very vocal against that. But I’m not going to belittle the fact that their lives are at stake to get into a back and forth with the president,” Sharpton told host Nicole Wallace. “I can say that if I’m a member of their families, I don’t want to hear what he’s saying about Honduras right now. I want to pray that these two guardsmen who were ordered there and who we’re being told by the mayor was ambushed, make it through.”
War Secretary Pete Hegseth said Wednesday that Trump ordered an additional 500 National Guard troops into Washington, D.C., following the shooting. Sharpton dismissed Trump’s newly announced plan to send an additional 500 personnel, saying the administration is exploiting the shooting to defend its immigration strategy.
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“And all of this about sending in 500 people, what does that have to do with where we are now? I think that we’ve got to, those of us that have been opposed to the president’s policy, show that we are not going to morally match him by going down to a level of insensitivity,” Sharpton added.
Sharpton also took a swipe at Trump’s allies, claiming it was “ironic” to hear lectures on respecting law enforcement from people who “pardoned people assaulting police officers” after Jan. 6.
“There are two people fighting for their lives on Thanksgiving Eve. And it just seems ironic to me that people that pardoned people assaulting police officers are now talking about how they’re going to uphold and look up to the people in the building. People in that building were beat January 6th,” Sharpton said.
FBI Director Kash Patel said that investigators will treat the shooting of two National Guard soldiers as an assault on a federal law enforcement officer. The troops arrived in Washington, D.C. in August as part of the federal response to rising crime and disorder, bringing the current deployment to roughly 2,200 personnel.
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