[wmkn]

Because the exact phrase has historical context [1] in a sense of: if you loot, we shoot. Clearly it wasn’t said in a sense of: looting inevitably leads to violence.

That makes it sound like Trump used it in a similar fashion.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/where-does-phrase-...

[gweinberg]

Looting doesn't lead to violence, looting is violence.

[wmkn]

Fair point. ‘Looting inevitably leads to innocent people getting shot’ is probably not what Trump meant.