An Irish man helping lead New York's COVID-19 response has described Donald Trump as a "pretend leader" who promotes "disunity and division".
Limerick man Michael Dowling - President and CEO of health company Northwell Health - was picked by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to help lead the state's response to the coronavirus crisis.
New York is also one of the US cities to have experienced large-scale protests in recent days, following the death of unarmed black man George Floyd in Minneapolis.
Mr Dowling told The Pat Kenny Show that a "constellation of issues" - including the "disproportionate effect" of the coronavirus crisis on black communities - have contributed to the ongoing unrest across the US.
Speaking after another night of demonstrations in the city, Mr Dowling observed: "The scene overnight, from what I understand, was pretty good.
"What's important to keep in mind here is that the vast majority of the protests - and I've observed them myself... were quite peaceful. That represents about 98-99% of the protesters - they're doing it the right way, expressing their frustration and despair.
"There is a small portion of those demonstrators, or others who infiltrate the demonstrators, have criminal intent and are trying to cause trouble."
Mr Dowling suggested that city leadership now has to send a message that peaceful protest is fine, but to stress that they'll also have to communicate with police to stop any looting and criminal damage.
He said the situation isn't being helped by a "complete lack of leadership" at the federal level.
He told Pat: "You have a President who, in my view, gives oxygen to hate and discord... who promotes disunity and division, and takes advantage of it.
"It's inconceivable to think that kind of behaviour by what I would call a pretend leader does not have an effect on what goes on on the ground."
Mr Dowling said the situation comes against the backdrop of three-months of coronavirus lockdown and high levels of unemployment.
He observed: "The coronavirus issue has disproportionately affected black Americans, so you have a constellation of issues coming together here that have a negative effect.
"We will come out of this and this will dissipate, but we do have a lot of work to do going forward to break down the divisions that exists in society and the racism that exists."
Elsewhere, Mr Dowling said the numbers of coronavirus cases are 'way, way down' in the city.
However, he said: "Tens of thousands of people have been marching peacefully and legally across the city over the last couple of days... many wearing masks, many not.
"It will be very interesting to see in the next week or two whether we see a little upsurge in cases because of the results of [those] activities.
"Aside from that, yes, the coronavirus issue is in retreat - we are winning, and the economy is coming back slowly."
