US President Donald Trump has denied reports he was rushed to the White House bunker on Friday night during anti-racism protests. Mr Trump told Fox News radio he went down during the day for a "tiny period of time" for an "inspection". There have been protests near the White House, and across the US, for days over the death in custody of George Floyd. Although some have turned violent, the defence secretary has said he does not back deploying "active duty forces". Mark Esper said on Wednesday he did not support invoking the Insurrection Act, which would enable the deployment of federal troops for domestic law enforcement. "The option to use active duty forces should only be used as a matter of last resort and only in the most urgent and dire of situations. We are not in one of those situations now," he said. This marks a break with President Trump, who has threatened to use the 1807 act and call up troops to quash demonstrations. The death of African-American George Floyd, whose neck was pinned down by the knee of a white policeman in Minneapolis, sparked widespread protests. Tens of thousands of people have demonstrated across the United States for eight days against racism and the police killings of black Americans, while also calling for an end to racism and discrimination. The vast majority have been peaceful but some have turned violent and curfews have been imposed in a number of cities.