“There is no compassion in tolerating lawless conduct. Crime and violence is an attack on the poor and will never be accepted in a Trump administration, never, ever,” Trump said at the beginning of a speech on energy Thursday in Pittsburgh.

ADVERTISEMENT “Our job is not to make life more comfortable for the violent disruptors, but to make life more comfortable for the African-American parent trying to raise their kids in peace, to walk their children to school, and to get their children great educations. We have to cherish and protect those people,” he said. The violence makes the country look bad on the world stage, he said in prepared remarks.

“Our country looks bad to the world, especially we are supposed to be the world’s leader. How can we lead when we can’t even control our own cities?”

Trump struck a compassionate tone in speaking about the Charlotte protests, saying that the violence only hurts poor African-Americans trying to take care of themselves and their children and calling for national unity.

“The first duty of government is to protect their well-being and safety. We have to do that,” Trump continued.

He called for more law enforcement presence in Charlotte and elsewhere to crack down on violence.

“More law enforcement, more community engagement, more effective policing, is what our country needs, and we need it quickly,” he said.

The protests, which started after a black man was killed — there are conflicting reports of whether he was unarmed — have so far injured at least five police officers.

Trump has attracted controversy already for earlier statements he has made about the Charlotte protests and violence elsewhere related to police shootings.

He called both Wednesday and Thursday for increased use of the controversial “stop-and-frisk” policing tactic, in which an officer can stop and frisk person in public if the officer has a reasonable suspicion of criminal activity.