President Trump addresses trust in police: Everyone has to do better, it's a long-term problem
President Trump discusses the 'long-term' trust problem between law enforcement and the African American community
President Trump said Wednesday that U.S. police departments overall have to “get better” because police misconduct has been a “long-term” problem.
“They have to get better at what they have been doing. Obviously, [George Floyd's death] was a terrible thing,” Trump told “The Brian Kilmeade Show.”
Trump said that he addressed the matter numerous times in various speeches, including devoting an ample amount of time to George Floyd’s death during the historic SPACE X and NASA space launch.
“The rocket went off, I then made a speech and then I talked about George Floyd but they said they didn’t talk about George Floyd. Almost half of the speech, but a large portion of the speech was devoted exactly to that,” Trump said.
Trump said that the media would never approve of his response, regardless of how he did it.
“A guy like sleepy Joe Biden was in there for 43 years, then he said ‘I think we should do this,’” Trump said.
“He made a statement about what we should do and he’s been there for 43 years. He’s been vice president for 8 years, he didn’t do a thing. His crime bill was a disaster.”
Trump's comments came after former President George W. Bush broke his silence on the death of George Floyd, saying that he was “anguished” by the incident and calling “for America to examine our tragic failures” when it comes to racial injustice.
“We have resisted the urge to speak out, because this is not the time for us to lecture,” Bush said in a statement. “It is time for us to listen. It is time for America to examine our tragic failures – and as we do, we will also see some of our redeeming strengths.”
He added: “This tragedy — in a long series of similar tragedies — raises a long overdue question: How do we end systemic racism in our society? The only way to see ourselves in a true light is to listen to the voices of so many who are hurting and grieving. Those who set out to silence those voices do not understand the meaning of America — or how it becomes a better place.”
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Floyd, an unarmed African-American man, died in police custody May 25 after former Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin pinned him on the ground and kneeled on his neck for more than eight minutes in a moment caught on cellphone video.