The bunker is five stories below the White House and was built to withstand a nuclear attack.
As tension reached a boiling point in protests outside the White House Friday night, a dramatic scene was unfolding inside. President Donald Trump, First Lady Melania and their son Barron were rushed to an underground bunker out of an abundance of caution.
The bunker is five stories below the White House and was built to withstand a nuclear attack. The last time it was used was on 9/11.
The Trumps remained in the bunker for under an hour Friday. The next day, Trump tweeted, "Nobody came close to breaching the White House fence. If they had they would have been greeted with the most vicious dogs, and most ominous weapons."
In a Monday conference call with the nation's governors, the president reportedly accused most of them of being "weak" and urged them to get tough and "dominate" violent protesters or risk looking like "jerks."
The president has blamed much of the civil unrest on a movement comprised of autonomous left-wing, anti-fascist activist groups called "antifa," who are known for their confrontational style of direct action at protests and for using violence and property destruction against targets they have deemed as fascist, far-right or racist.
Trump vowed to designate them as a terrorist organization.
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