The Conversation (0)
Joanna Taylor
Jun 01, 2020
Getty
People are posting hilarious #BunkerBoy memes in response to Trump hiding in an underground bunker during the Black Lives Matter protests.
Trump is believed to have spent around an hour in the bunker, which was designed for emergencies like terrorist attacks, after being escorted there by the secret service on Friday evening.
Protesters had gathered at police barriers surrounding the White House, and could be heard chanting in the nearby Lafayette Park.
Wow. Outside the White House https://t.co/jNHkHVpLVg— Adam Parkhomenko (@Adam Parkhomenko) 1590961581
Fires were also set in the capital, and stones were thrown at the White House gates.
There’s a fire outside the White House https://t.co/bjLMCUlonk— Sahil Kapur (@Sahil Kapur) 1590978655
The White House was put on one of the highest alerts since the 9/11 terror attacks.
The lights were also switched off, something that usually only happens when a president dies.
The image of a silent and deserted-looking White House while thousands of people were risking their lives to protest the death of George Floyd captured people's imagination on Twitter.
2015, Obama 2020, Trump #BunkerBoy #PrideMonth https://t.co/ErpvaLSvMz— cami (@cami) 1590991470
Trump turned the lights off like he ran out of candy on Halloween. #BunkerBoy https://t.co/sQF0WYSNOt— I See Thread People (@I See Thread People) 1590986341
And, of course, there were jokes about the president hiding given everything that was happening around him.
#BunkerBoy wants to know if it's safe to come out yet. https://t.co/oxTItKYRek— 🌎 ☮️ ❤️🤍💙🇺🇸 (@🌎 ☮️ ❤️🤍💙🇺🇸) 1590989559
Leaked footage of #BunkerBoy hiding is his presidential hiding hole 🤡 https://t.co/aLsQycGNNR— 🌯 (@🌯) 1590995091
Ok #BunkerBoy, it’s 2025 now, you can come out when you’re ready https://t.co/yiZN2JEsgq— Justin Gendron (@Justin Gendron) 1590988148
I have a feeling Donald will never be able to shake his new nickname on the golf course. #BunkerBoy— Hamish Mitchell (@Hamish Mitchell) 1590993166
Trump is a classic bully. He talks real tough and then hides in his bunker. #BunkerBoy— Dr. John Biggan (@Dr. John Biggan) 1590989586
#BunkerBoy #BunkerDon Presidential Aide: “Mr President, the country is burning to the ground and there are protes… https://t.co/fcAHLWYF9J— yrocAfella (@yrocAfella) 1590987817
The Simpsons once again (sort of) predicted that this would happen.
The Simpsons really predict everything😳: - Coronavirus - Murder Hornets - #Minneapolis Police Station Burning down… https://t.co/vbxNpBNxvd— Aych (@Aych) 1591002058
Trump has not addressed the protesters or the heartbreak and anger they feel over the death of George Floyd and racist police brutality in America.
He has, instead, sparked further outrage by tweeting that "looting" leads to "shooting" and threatening to declare the leftist anti-fascist group Antifa a "terrorist organisation".
An earlier tweet in which the president directly threatened the protesters with violence was deleted.
The president's response to the protests which have swept the US and spread to the UK has been severely criticised.
Even *Nixon* had to courage to go to talk with antiwar protesters face-to-face in the aftermath of the Kent State s… https://t.co/SalUk1E04O— Kevin M. Kruse (@Kevin M. Kruse) 1590972315
I can imagine no other president in my lifetime failing to address the nation in a prime time speech during a crisi… https://t.co/oAyXlKhZlX— Dan Rather (@Dan Rather) 1590976903
Like all other strong men, Donald Trump is a coward and soft and terrified. Hiding in the White House and turning o… https://t.co/2NSFl9ZyVi— Jared Yates Sexton (@Jared Yates Sexton) 1590982895
Once again, he has been shown to be a hypocrite.
There’s always a past tweet. #BunkerBoy #BunkerDon https://t.co/pPYiXkaN9n— ᑕнσcσℓαт_ƉяαɢѲиҒℓʏ (@ᑕнσcσℓαт_ƉяαɢѲиҒℓʏ) 1590987477
Although Trump has every right to protect his safety, he has done nothing to address protesters's concerns or offer any hint of resolution.
Instead he has addressed them with the heavily loaded terms "thugs" and "rioters" and called for violence to be used against them.
It is no wonder, then, that anger at the White House is palatable, and the #bunkerboy has gotten no closer to ending the protests.