Escalating his rhetoric during a period of roiling national crises, President Trump on Monday threatened to deploy the U.S. military to cities or states that don’t take “necessary” actions to halt violent protests, saying the armed forces will “quickly solve the problem for them.”

Trump’s Rose Garden remarks came as just across the street, law enforcement officers deployed tear gas and shot rubber bullets to forcefully disperse peaceful protesters.

Trump’s remarks, which lasted less than seven minutes, came after days of protests in dozens of cities across the U.S. following the death of George Floyd, a black man who died in police custody in Minneapolis a week ago.

During the remarks, Trump declared himself “a law-and-order president” and “ally of all peaceful protesters,” but he called violent unrest that has accompanied many demonstrations “acts of domestic terror.”

Nation in crisis

Protests, which have at times broken out into violence and looting, continued from the weekend into Monday, following the video-recorded death of Floyd, who died after a white officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes.