People at some point doing what is right when their Office Demands it. And i can be consistently disappointed by somebody in his position with the kind of guidance he has around him saying so many bad things so often. Guidance . Who . There are smart people around him who know that hes not supposed to be saying what he said tonight. Like . Hes got advisers who know better. I know they do. Im not surprised by the actions. Im surprised by what he said. I should say the actions of how it all played out like a reality show. Not surprised by that. Im surprised at that about sending the military out and that whole message where he comes off as a modernday dictator. Thats just talk. He cant do any of that. Okay, but still he would like to. Right. He would like to but he cant. Hes playing a role. But do you remember the day when we were told that this president was going to come out and Say Something about his role in birtherism and barack obama and that he was finally going to say i was wrong. Yeah. What have you. You know what he did for a long time . He promoted his hotels. He got the media to go live. Promoted his hotels, and the last thing he said was, okay, barack obama was born in this country, and then he left the stage. Did not take questions. Then he did that over and over and over. And guess what . The media kept falling for it over and over and over. And thats why i said today that when you deal with someone like this, an Administration Like this, you have to be really careful about how you cover them and the strategy because theyre always trying to play you. Its a show. This is not about the American People. This is not about a democracy. This is about numero uno, donald trump. He is a showman. He is playing the media. He wants to be reelected come november and nothing else matters. Doesnt care about Police Brutality. Dont care about how minorities are treated in this country. Doesnt care about any of that. He doesnt even care about the people who are who love him and laugh, oh, my gosh, donald trump. He doesnt care about those people. How many of those people can afford to stay in his hotels . None. Pretty much none of them. So he does not care about that. Before he was president , you knew him. Your family is from here. Your family grew up here. Did you see him hanging out with those kinds of people . Nope. Okay then, that answers your question. So people who know him, people who are in the media should have known today that he was going for the law and order play. And all of it was coming together. Going to get the people in washington, were going to create a stir. The attorney generals going to come out, hes going to look over the troops and then theyre going to go in and this president is going to look strong for his what . People. For his constituents. Well, he botched that last support. That was one of the most lame things ive ever seen, what he did today. At the same time he was saying he was allied with Peaceful Protesters. He was he had people smashing into them with plexiglass shields and using tear gas on them. That shows he doesnt care. At the same time, it was a lie in real time. He timed it perfectly. The last time he went to church, even go inside. No. New years. You know what they say about people afraid to walk inside a church. He held up a bible, don, outside a church that is known for social justice work in its community. Yeah. Were going to talk about that. Didnt want him there. Two corinthians. Im sure he read it as he went in. Thank you very much, chris. Ill see you tomorrow. Later on tonight, by the way. Yes, sir. Love you, brother. So weve got a lot to cover. This is cnn tonight. Im don lemon. Tonight, america, democracy or dictatorship, america . It is your choice. And as we wait to see which it will be, there are curfews coast to coast as protests spread in American Cities. And all over americas cities. This is what the Trump Presidency has come to. What happened in our nations capital. Our nation. Just a few hours ago it was really stunning. Peaceful protesters fired on with tear gas, rubber bullets, flash bangs to drive them out of Lafayette Park in washington, d. C. The sound clearly heard in the rose garden as the president shamelessly proclaimed himself the president of law and order. I am your president of law and order and an ally of all Peaceful Protesters. But in recent days our nation has been gripped by profession anarchists, violent mobs, arsonist, looters, criminals, antifa and others. Do not believe this man as he lies to your face. An ally of Peaceful Protesters . This is what happened just minutes before that. And in a minute im going to tell you why. Driving Peaceful Protesters out of Lafayette Park, tear gassing them in the streets, denying american citizens their rights to protest. And to make their voices heard. So he could put on a show. Play acting the part of mr. Law and order. And as his props, he will use the u. S. Military that he is supposed to use to defend our citizens. What he wants is for his voters to see him standing on the steps of a church, apparently the image needs to have him scowling. It is the first time hes visited a church since christmas eve, by the way, and he didnt have permission to be there. Standing there with a bible in his hand, a bible that wasnt even his own. Is that your bible . Its a baseball. Bible. Can i see that picture again, please . Can we see that again . Is that your bible . Its a bible. Its a bible. What was what was that all about . With the bible. What he wants is for his voters to see him. Look at that. Its complete photoop. Surrounded by his staff, all of them, by the way, as we see that all of them white. Look at that. The picture of diversity right there. Look at america. As he holds somebodys bible. He answered it for you. The reporter said, is that your bible . Its a baseball. Bible. While they were standing at that church, they didnt even bother to pray. They didnt pray for justice for the floyd family. They didnt pray for wisdom for our leaders. They didnt pray for the strength to guide america through this moment of turmoil. They didnt pray for the more than 105,000 americans dead from the coronavirus. It was an empty and craven as empty and craven a gesture as you can get. As just as words can get. His words calling for healing not hatred. Those are the emptiest words ive ever heard. This is the president who demanded today that governors dominate protesters in their states. Whose secretary of defense talked about americans and American Cities as a battle space. In my urging, i agree, we need to dominate the battle space. The battle space. The president claims that he is on the side of peaceful Peaceful Protesters. This is a president who called nfl players kneeling peacefully to protest Police Brutality and racial injustice. Remember, and im quoting here, sons of bitches. The president is so empty, so petty, small. He thinks hes tough. He actually wants you to think that. He probably knows that deep down inside he is weak, that he is selfish, that he is a complete disappointment. That he never lives up to the office he holds. Probably why he always harkens back to the former president. He wants to so much be like barack obama but he just cant buy class. He just cant buy the intelligence. He just cant buy the adoration of the American People. He was so upset about the reporting that he was rushed into the white house bunkered during the protests on friday night that he told aides that he wanted to be seen outside the white house gates and cooked up this disgraceful obvious, glaring stunt. This, everyone, is a story of desperation. This president is desperate to hang on to power. The American People are desperate to be heard. A real leader would rise to the occasion here. Would listen to americans voices of protest. Really hear them. That would be a true sign of strength, a true sign of leadership, a true sign of a president. And this president is proving again tonight just how weak he is. But he is a weak man who commands armies. Who orders states to dominate their citizens. Here is a prayer for you tonight. For all of us. Are you ready . Everybody together. God help the United States of mesh. America. Amen. Cnns Jason Carroll is in brooklyn for us tonight at the Barclays Center. Jason, we saw some images tonight of peaceful protests. We also saw some looting in new york city earlier tonight. Tell us what is happening now. Reporter well, we started at the Barclays Center and now were in a section of crown heights, and the crowd has grown to, by our estimate, don, of more than 1,000 people. You talked about people who wanted to have their voices heard. Whether or not 1,000 of them still marching right now through the streets of brooklyn. Right now in the section of crown heights. And a little earlier, you know, there were speakers who were talking about the looting, talking about the vandalism and they said, look, we dont want our message to get lost here, so stop with that and keep with the member, b message, but as you know, in less than an hour from now, an 11 00 curfew is going to go into effect so there have been a lot of questions about whats going to happen. Ive been talking to a lot of people out here and saying, look, what are you going to do, what are you going to do when 11 00 rolls around . They made it very clear theyre going to keep having their message heard. They also said theyre going to wait to see what the police do. I said, what do you mean by that . One of the young women out here said to me, given all she has seen, a lot of them are waiting to see and will react in kind to whatever the police decide to do. And as you know, last night there were, what, some 4,000 Police Officers out in the streets of new york. Tonight that number is doubled. And city officials have already made it clear that anyone who is out here who is not considered essential will be placed under arrest. Charged with a misdemeanor. You could face, what, 90 days in jail. But the people ive spoken to out here say, look, we are prepared to go to jail. We are prepared to do whatever we have to do to get our message out. And to make sure that we are heard. Don . Jason carroll joining us from brooklyn. In new york. Jason, thank you so much. We also saw images, live images of chicago up on your screen as well. In the meantime, i want to get to louisville, kentucky and cnns Evan Mcmorris santoro joins us now live there from. Evan, what are you seeing . Reporter hi, don. How are you doing . Let me just set the scene for you here. Louisville, of course, is dealing with two of these tragic deaths that was up until this morning, of Brionna Taylor shot by police in march and then, of course, the george floyd protest that has fueled so much around the country, but this morning, early this morning there was another incident involving the death of a local barbecue purveying, wellknown guy who also was shot in a police action. Thats currently under state investigation. That led to protests. There were that took place on the west side of town and here downtown where the protests have been going on as part of the George Floyd Movement for quite a while. Now, 9 00 was the curfew. Some people dissipated. Some people did not. And the police are starting to move in here to jefferson square. Weve had some pepper balls fire, weve had some tear gas. You know, the crowd wasnt doing anything really before the police moved in, except for being out after curfew, but once the police started to move, you did see some of the protesters throwing Water Bottles and things like that. Now, this city is in the middle of trying to have a conversation about policing while this is going on. After the Brionna Taylor death, the mayor and Police Officials got together and decided that the noknock warrant which is seen as being part of the reason why she died is now under investigation with new rules about how to use it. Then this morning, following the death of david mcatee that i mentioned, the barbecue purveyor, the Police Body Cams allegedly were not on and that led to the firing of the police chief. Now, the police chief was already set to retire at the end of june, but he has now been fired by the mayor. So, complicated, but the end result is this city, which is gripped by the same protests everywhere else is, is trying to do Police Reform while this is going on. And, of course, right now weve seen the interactions between police and protesters that weve seen all across the country and theres tear gas and everything else. Don . Evan Mcmorris Santoro in louisville, thank you. Well check back. I want to get to Cnns Kaitlan Collins now who joins us now from washington. Kaitlan, new reporting tonight as to why peaceful protests near the white house protesters, i should say. Why they were forcibly cleared out so the president could have a photoop in front of a nearby church. What do you know about that . Reporter yeah, don, it was about half an hour before the president came out to the rose garden, and we started seeing them they issued three really quick warnings to these protesters who were here in Lafayette Park. Lafayette square. Standing here. No acts of violence or anything that we had seen from the eight hours or so that wed been up here. Then very quickly they moved them out of the way with tear gas, flash bangs, batons, shields, the whole thing. And then the president spoke in in the rose garden. To it seemed like those two were connected. Then at the end of those remarks, don, he said hes going to go visit a special place. Walked to the st. Johns church, something ive never seen him do, walk out of the front doors of the white house and came over here and took pictures with his top aides. Were hearing from sources and what i heard from my colleague kevin lip tack. The president was frustrated how he had been rushed to the bunker as the protests were breaking out in front of the white house. He wanted to be seen outside the gates of the white house today. And that is what played a part of a role in why the president made the decision to leave the white house and walk over to this church here behind us, which of course now is raising so many questions after these Peaceful Protesters had been pushed out of the way with tear gas and forced off of a blocked street so the president could walk over here to take those pictures with his top advisers. Kaitlan, i want i want you to just stand by for me because were looking at pictures, live pictures from washington, d. C. Where protesters are throwing rocks and they are getting in the face of our photojournalist who is on the scene there. Im not exactly sure where this shot is. I know it is in d. C. You can see the capitol in the foreground, in the distance there. And im sure not reporter yeah, theyre not over here by the white house anymore. Im sure not too terribly far from where you are, kaitlan, but not too terribly close either. But, again, thats the scene in washington, d. C. You can see the window there. As soon as they focus up. Has been smashed. The window has been smashed. And well continue to follow these pictures. So, kaitlan, talk to me about about the president s announcement threatening a military crackdown in states on the same day that he called governors weak. Reporter yeah. Earlier he berated governors on that call, saying that they were weak, that they werent doing enough to crack down on protesters who were turning violent, where its becoming riots, where they are breaking windows of offices, lighting cars on fire, looting, things of that nature. He basically vowed in the rose garden if governors dont do enough, he is going to get involved, and that means the military is going to get involved. Thats what he was threatening there in the rose garden earlier. The question is how does that materialize . Earlier we know he said hed put the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff in charge, though later the press secretary did not elaborate on exactly what that meant. But basically the president is threatening to invoke the insurrection act. So what that looks like and whether or not this actually comes to where military force is used in the United States of america, something that, of course, is not typical unless you see, like, a hurricane or something of that nature, but thats what the president is threatening and that was his message tonight as he came out to the rose garden. But whats notable is hes talking about the protests that are turning violent. The one that are turning into riots. He said hes an ally of peaceful protests, but, of course, don, we saw what happened to the peaceful protest that was happening outside of the white house just a few hours ago. Mmhmm. Kaitlan collins joining us from washington. Kaitlan, stand by. If need be, well get back to you. Again, were looking at live pictures from washington, d. C. And these are protesters who are violating the curfew. Its a shaky shot. Dont necessarily have control of this camera. But, again, these are protesters who are out violating the curfew in d. C. The president saying earlier that obviously sending out members of the military and the national guard. Promising force for these americans who are out on the street. Most of them peacefully protesting. Some of them obviously, as you are seeing, breaking the law and and damaging property as they should not be. And this is the seventh night that this is happening. And, again, but the president promising order. We will see if that order maintains this evening and into the future. It appears that they have that tear gas has been fired into this small crowd of protesters. This is just north of the capitol. But, again, we will keep our eye on these pictures. I want to get to cnns senior