Ahmaud Arbery's mother comments on 'emotional' meeting with President Trump
Wanda Cooper-Jones says President Trump was compassionate and listened to families' concerns.
Wanda Cooper-Jones, the mother Ahmaud Arbery, said President Trump was "very compassionate" when he met with various families behind closed doors on Tuesday, prior to signing an executive order geared toward reforming the country's policing tactics.
Fox News host and anchor Bret Baier played a sound bite of Cooper-Jones on "Special Report" of her describing the experience of meeting with the commander in chief.
"I was very, very emotional throughout the whole conference," she said. "[Trump] was very compassionate. He showed major concern for all families. Not just one family, but for all families."
Cooper-Jones added: "I can say that President Trump was very receiving. He listened and he addressed each and every family accordingly."
Trump tweeted later Tuesday night that Cooper-Jones is "A GREAT woman. Her son is looking down from heaven & is very proud of his wonderful & loving mom!!!"
Arbery was a black man who was shot dead on Feb. 23 while out jogging in Brunswick, Ga. Trump met with families of other victims of racially-charged violence, as well.
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Fox News congressional reporter Chad Pergram was on Capitol Hill and tweeted about Cooper-Jones' meeting with Trump, and a separate meeting she had with Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., citing a pool report.
"Ahmaud Arbery’s mother, after mtg w/GOP SC Sen Scott: 'It was very very emotional. We have mothers we have sisters we have grandmothers that were in the room and we're in so much pain and we need some change,'" he tweeted.
He wrote that she also said, "I think the president was very receiving, he was very compassionate, he did assure every family that we will, we would and should expect change."
After meeting with the families, Trump signed an executive order on law enforcement reform and said "chokeholds will be banned except if an officer’s life is at risk," as the nation reels from the death of George Floyd in the custody of the Minneapolis Police Department and the ensuing unrest -- which has sparked calls for changes in policing nationwide as drastic as dismantling entire departments.
Cooper-Jones wished Trump's order had gone further, but she considered the reforms to be a promising start, CBS News reported.
"When Ahmaud Arbery’s mom, Wanda Cooper-Jones, was asked about the executive order that @realdonaldtrump signed today she said she didn’t think that it was enough 'but I do think that it's a start,'" CBS News producer Fin Gomez tweeted.
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The executive order also addressed the best practices for use of force, instituted information sharing to track officers who have repeated complaints against them and included federal incentives for police departments to deploy non-police personnel for issues related to mental health, homelessness and addiction.
Fox News' Tyler Olson contributed to this report.
