The New York Times is reporting that President Donald Trump rushed to the bunker as protesters surrounded the White House.
On Friday, as protests continued escalating across the United States, those standing against police brutality and demanding action came to the White House. It was only a few hundred people, far eclipsed by the crowd marching through the streets of Washington, D.C. on Sunday.
The Secret Service hasn't said what prompted them to take Trump to the underground bunker on Friday, but there is a protocol to get him to safety if they feel the White House and the president are threatened. The only other notorious use of the bunker was when Vice President Dick Cheney was brought on Sept. 11, 2001, as planes hit the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
It has been designed to withstand the force of a passenger jet crashing into the White House above it.
Trump was reportedly "rattled" and spent the evening in the bunker with his family.
He "emerged on Saturday morning to boast that he never felt unsafe and vow to sic 'vicious dogs' and 'ominous weapons' on intruders. Melania Trump, anxious about the protests, opted at the last minute not to travel to Florida for the rocket launch on Saturday," said the Times.
After watching the SpaceX launch on Saturday, protesters approached the White House again. Washington police blocked off roads for several blocks around the White House. Trump then took to Twitter to attack the police for not helping the Secret Service.
Trump ranted "FAKE NEWS" about 15 minutes after the report went live. It's unclear if he's calling the story false or the fact that he was "rattled" is false.
FAKE NEWS!— Donald J. Trump (@Donald J. Trump) 1590970161.0
Former Vice President Joe Biden, by contrast, took to the streets Sunday to listen to the concerns of protesters and spoke on the phone with many mayors in the country.
