Pat Buchanan: 1968 Protests were Far Worse than Today
A group of protesters clashed with police in the nation’s capital as the inaugural festivities for President Donald Trump took place Friday.
While as many as 500 protesters marched on D.C., Pat Buchanan, who ran as a third-party candidate in the 2000 presidential election, told the FOX Business Network’s Neil Cavuto the protests in 1968 were far worse than anything the Capitol saw Friday.
“I think there were some disorders and demonstrations in many of the rallies and real division in the country but it wasn’t as violent of a year as ‘68, the most divisive since the Civil War,†Buchanan said.
Buchanan said 1968 was a year of riots and assassinations that took the lives of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and former U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy.
The protesters, some wearing masks, threw rocks at police and used hammers to smash the windows of local businesses like a Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) branch and a McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD).
“The demonstrations have been prepared. It was an us or them election. There was real clarity in this election between what Trump represented and what was rejected of the Obama administration and of Hillary Rodham Clinton,†Buchanan said.
As of Friday afternoon, nearly 100 protesters had been arrested.
Buchanan recalled that in 1968, former President Richard Nixon was hit by debris, firecrackers and eggs as his limousine drove towards the reviewing stands.
“I think the country is more polarized and divided now Neil, but it is not as violent as it was in 1968,†he said.