Protesters rally in front of the White House during a protest over the death of George Floyd in Washington D.C., the United States, on May 31, 2020. Protests over the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man killed in Minneapolis police custody, continued in cities across the United States. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

 
US President Donald Trump on Monday slammed protests in Washington in which some property and monuments have been vandalized.

"What happened in the city last night was a total disgrace," Trump said. "As we speak I am dispatching thousands and thousands of heavily armed soldiers, military personnel and law enforcement officers to stop the rioting, looting, vandalism, assaults and wanton destruction of property."