Michael Waltz on left-wing groups destroying national landmarks

All right, meanwhile, President Trump, speaking of the resident of the White House, promising retribution for vandals who target our historical landmarks and break things. I stopped it the other night. Every night we're going to get tougher and tougher. And at some point there's going to be retribution because there has to be. These people are vandals, but they're agitators, but they're really, they're terrorists in a sense. This as hundreds of National Guard troops are in the D.C. area to protect the monuments monuments. As protesters renew plans to tear down the emancipation statue tonight was supposed to be last night. Now, perhaps Ainsley tonight in Lincoln Park. That's right. Florida's GOP congressman and National Guard Colonel Michael Waltz joins us now. Michael, what's your reaction to all of this monument talk? Well, you know, in this case for the for the Lincoln monument, the emancipation monument cancel culture has now just become ignorant culture. This is not a Confederate statue. This is this was a celebration after the Civil War of the Emancipation Proclamation. Actually, this statue in Lincoln Park was the National Lincoln Monument before the current Lincoln Monument was built. And it was what's so amazing about it is the money for it was raised by freed black slaves by emancipated black citizens. The first five dollars was dedicated by a woman from Virginia, Charlotte Scott. It's the first five dollars that she earned as a black woman. There was a massive parade led by the dean of Howard University Law School. Frederick Douglass gave the keynote speech. This was an incredible national event. And I don't see how in any way it's any way possible that this left wing group then gets to cancel out the wishes of the slaves that were freed back then and the slave that's depicted is actually breaking the bonds, is actually breaking the chains in the statue of slavery and emerging as a as a free man and as a free American. The mob culture cannot just decide what it wants to destroy. If we want to put a process in place, if we want to make these decisions as local communities, that's fine. But the president is absolutely right. There needs to be consequences for what they're doing. And guys, if I could just say very quickly, the D.C. Guard is being deployed again on behalf of all of my brothers and sisters in the National Guard. You know, they're they're still doing overseas deployments. They're being pulled from their families and from their jobs for covid for the social unrest. And now continually for this, because a mob's decided it doesn't like something, it's just ridiculous and sad. Michael, on top of that, they have to stand there and they have no arms. They have no pepper spray. They stand there in camouflage, but they can't touch it. I mean, I feel bad for them because their hands are literally tied as they're asked to do something that is to say this to say the least is unscripted handling a mob. That's not real. I mean, I don't know how how much that's a part of your training. Well, and they're and they're supporting a police department that's now being defunded by the D.C. D.C. mayor. But actually handling crowds is part of our training. That was part of the debate that we were talking about earlier, when there was where there was this ridiculous notions that the military was moving in in this aggressive fashion. It's part of it. But at the end of the day, they have serious missions overseas. They're getting ready for hurricane season, you know, not dealing not dealing with people who who just get to decide they randomly don't like something. And in this case, something that was erected by slaves that were emancipated, that that gave of their own money, of their first earnings. They don't just get to cancel that out and take five minutes and do a little research before you start going after statues. Indeed, they're going tonight. Michael, we we thank you very much for your service and we thank you for joining us on this Friday. Thank you. Thanks so much.