White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt offered a brief but firm response on Wednesday when asked whether President Donald Trump supports the right to peaceful protest.
During the White House press briefing, a reporter asked Leavitt to clarify what forms of protest the president considers acceptable. Leavitt responded by drawing a clear line, stating that any protest must remain nonviolent.
“The president absolutely supports peaceful protests. He supports the First Amendment. He supports the right of Americans to make their voices heard,” said Leavitt.
“He does not support violence of any kind. He does not support assaulting law enforcement officers who are simply trying to do their job. It’s very clear for the president what he supports and what he does not,” she continued. “Unfortunately for Democrats, that line has not been made clear, and they’ve allowed this unrest and this violence to continue, and the president has had to step in.”
When asked if the president would support peaceful protests during the military parade scheduled for Saturday, Leavitt dismissed the question. “Of course, the president supports peaceful protests. What a stupid question,” she said before moving on to the next reporter.
Q: So if there were peaceful protests on Saturday for the military parade the president would allow that?
.@PressSec Karoline Leavitt: “Of course the president supports peaceful protests. What a stupid question.” pic.twitter.com/QzjOIVoUlJ
— CSPAN (@cspan) June 11, 2025
On Tuesday, President Trump warned that any protesters disrupting the upcoming parade celebrating the United States’ 250th birthday would be met with “great force.” Speaking from the Oval Office, he issued the warning after recounting the recent violence and riots in Los Angeles and commending military personnel and law enforcement for their efforts to restore order.
“For those people that want to protest, they’re going to be met with very big force,” said Trump. “And I haven’t even heard about a protest, but you know, this is people that hate our country, but they will be met with very heavy force.”
The president also said that money is behind some of the violence going on in Los Angeles. Trump said that some of the demonstrators “are paid insurrectionists. These are paid troublemakers.”
