The White House Says Trump Supports Peaceful Protests of the Army Parade

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said President Donald Trump would support peaceful protests during the upcoming parade to mark the 250th anniversary of the Army, despite Trump vowing to meet any protesters with “very big force.”

“Of course the president supports peaceful protests. What a stupid question,” Leavitt said Wednesday when NOTUS asked if Trump would allow for peaceful protests during Saturday’s celebrations.

Trump previously warned that protesters would face heavy opposition — not differentiating between peaceful or violent protests.

“If there’s any protester that wants to come out, they will be met with very big force,” Trump said Tuesday. “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.”

Activists are planning “No Kings” demonstrations nationwide against Trump this weekend. He cracked down this week on protests in Los Angeles over his deportation efforts, sending in the National Guard and active duty Marines.

Leavitt said Trump “absolutely supports peaceful protests.”

“He supports the First Amendment. He supports the right of Americans to make their voices heard. He does not support violence of any kind. He does not support assaulting law enforcement officers who are simply trying to do their job,” Leavitt said. “It’s very clear for the president what he supports and what he does not.”

She accused Democrats of failing to do the same: “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.”

Another reporter asked Leavitt about the fact that Trump “has not, at any point, said the most important thing here is to protect the First Amendment rights of peaceful protesters. So I’m wondering where in his hierarchy of interests does he place that?”

Leavitt responded that “two things can be important at the same time, and the president, as I just answered, supports the right of Americans to peacefully protest. He supports the First Amendment. But that is not the majority of the behavior that we have seen taking place in Los Angeles.”

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Nuha Dolby is a NOTUS reporter and an Allbritton Journalism Institute fellow.