Watch: Massachusetts GOP Gov. Charlie Baker Slams Trump For ‘Bitterness, Combativeness & Self-Interest’

After President Donald Trump threatened to deploy the National Guard against protestors in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker (R) condemned the president’s “bitterness, combativeness and self-interest.”

During a press conference, the governor, who calls himself a moderate Republican, attacked Trump for promoting violence against protestors who were marching against brutality after a Minnesota African American man, George Floyd, died as a result of a chokehold performed by policeman Derek Chauvin.

“I heard what the president said today about dominating and fighting. I know I should be surprised when I hear incendiary words like this from him, but I’m not,” Baker told reporters during the press conference.

“At so many times during these past several weeks when the country needed compassion and leadership the most, it was simply nowhere to be found,” he replied.

He went on to tackle the president’s controversial remarks. Instead of receiving unifying messages, “we got bitterness, combativeness and self-interest,” Baker said. “That’s not what we need in Boston, it’s not what we need right now in Massachusetts and it’s definitely not what we need across this great country of ours either.”

The president’s words sparked national outrage. “You have to dominate or you’ll look like a bunch of jerks, you have to arrest and try people,” Trump told state officials, suggesting they handle the protests with more force.

Baker, who frequently criticizes Trump, focused on the pressing matter that most protestors have been trying to convey peacefully. “The murder of George Floyd at the hands of police was a horrible tragedy – one of countless tragedies to befall people of color across the United States. The vast majority of protesters today did so peacefully, toward a common goal of promoting justice and equality,” he told reporters.