Overview

Maxine Waters' Trump Protest Controversy refers to statements made by Democratic Representative Maxine Waters encouraging United States citizens to protest members of the Trump administration wherever they are seen.

Background

On June 23rd, 2018, Waters spoke at an anti-Trump rally held outside of the Wilshire Federal Building in Los Angeles, California, where is she encouraged the audience to protest Trump administration officials in reference to a recent incident in which Sarah Huckabee Sanders was forced to leave a Red Hen restaurant in Lexington, Virginia (shown below). Additionally, Waters condemned the controversial practice of separating children from their parents at the border between the United States and Mexico.

"Let's make sure we show up wherever we have to show up. And if you see anybody from that Cabinet in a restaurant, in a department store, at a gasoline station, you get out and you create a crowd. And you push back on them. And you tell them they're not welcome anymore, anywhere. We've got to get the children connected to their parents."

Developments

Online Reaction

On June 24th, 2018, Redditor SignalStand posted a Newsweek article about the tweet to /r/politics,^[4] where it received more than 24,100 points (84% upvoted) and 3,500 comments.

On June 25th, Redditor lotta_love submitted a Washington Post article to /r/politics in a post titled "Before Trump warned that Maxine Waters had 'called for harm,' he told supporters he'd like to punch a protester" to /r/politics.^[2]

Congressman Biggs' Resolution

On June 25th, Republican Representative Andy Biggs introduced a resolution to censure Waters for her comments, claiming they "condone public violence and encourage actions that jeopardize the safety and security of government officials and the American people."^[5]

Nancy Pelosi's Response

The same day, Democratic Representative Nancy Pelosi replied to a CNN tweet about Waters' remarks, saying that "Trump's daily lack of civility has provoked responses that are predictable and unacceptable" (shown below).

Donald Trump's Response

On June 25th, 2018, "Donald Trump": posted a tweet condemning Waters' tweet and describing her as "an extraordinarily low IQ person" (shown below). Within 24 hours, the tweet gained over 137,000 likes and 40,600 retweets.^[3]

Search Interest

External References