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Trump's comment 'this is a great day' for George Floyd draws immediate outrage – live Trump's comment 'this is a great day' for George Floyd draws immediate outrage – live
(32 minutes later)
‘Hopefully, George is looking down right now and saying, “This is a great thing happening for our country”’ Trump says amid police brutality at protests‘Hopefully, George is looking down right now and saying, “This is a great thing happening for our country”’ Trump says amid police brutality at protests
That’s it from me today. My colleagues, Martin Pengelly and Maanvi Singh, will take over the blog for the next few hours.
Here’s where the day stands so far:
Trump’s comment that this is a “great day” for George Floyd sparked outrage. Trump made the comment during a nearly hour-long event in the Rose Garden this afternoon, which mainly consisted of him boasting about the new jobs report. Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden said the remark, which came less than two weeks after Floyd was killed while in police custody, was “despicable.”
The US unemployment rate surprisingly dropped to 13.3% in May, according to the jobs report released this morning. The news was a welcome surprise, considering economists had predicted the rate could climb to as high as 20%, but the figure is still far from the 3.5% unemployment rate recorded in February.
Minneapolis agreed to ban the use of police chokeholds in response to the killing of Floyd. The Minneapolis city council approved an agreement today with the state’s department of human rights, which also requires officers to intervene anytime they seen an unauthorized use of force.
The DC mayor renamed the section of 16th Street in front of the White House “Black Lives Matter Plaza,” as tensions escalate between the administration and the DC government. Mayor Muriel Bowser has also asked Trump to remove all “extraordinary” law enforcement officers who were sent to the city in response to the Floyd protests, and the president responded by calling Bowser “incompetent.”
The entire Buffalo police department’s emergency response team has reportedly resigned from the team after two colleagues were suspended without pay for pushing a 75-year-old man who was protesting the killing of Floyd. The 57 officers will still by employed by BPD but will no longer serve on the emergency response team. The elderly protester has been hospitalized and is said to be in stable condition.
The blog will have more coming up, so stay tuned.
The Guardian’s Mario Koran reports from California:
California governor Gavin Newsom is calling on law enforcement to end the use of a certain kind of chokehold that can block the flow of blood to the brain, after George Floyd was killed while in police custody.
Newsom announced the news in an afternoon press conference at the California Museum in Sacramento, where he signed a law last year that specified police can use lethal force “only when necessary in defense of human life”.
Newsom said he would immediately direct the use of carotid hold be removed from the state police training programs, a practice that 15 law enforcement agencies in San Diego County banned earlier this week.
The carotid hold “has no place any longer in 21st century practices and policing,” Newsom said.
The entire Buffalo police department’s emergency response team has resigned from the team in response to the suspensions of two colleagues, according to a local reporter.The entire Buffalo police department’s emergency response team has resigned from the team in response to the suspensions of two colleagues, according to a local reporter.
The 57 officers will still be employed by BDP, but they will no longer work on the emergency response team.The 57 officers will still be employed by BDP, but they will no longer work on the emergency response team.
The news comes after two officers were suspended without pay for shoving a 75-year-old man who was protesting the police killing of George Floyd. The elderly man had to be hospitalized but is said to be in stable condition.The news comes after two officers were suspended without pay for shoving a 75-year-old man who was protesting the police killing of George Floyd. The elderly man had to be hospitalized but is said to be in stable condition.
Buffalor mayor Byron Brown said he was aware of the resignations, adding that “contingency plans are in place to maintain police services and ensure public safety within our community.”Buffalor mayor Byron Brown said he was aware of the resignations, adding that “contingency plans are in place to maintain police services and ensure public safety within our community.”
The Guardian’s Kari Paul reports from California:The Guardian’s Kari Paul reports from California:
Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian resigned from his board position at the social media company on Friday in an effort to “curb racial hate,” urging his colleagues to fill his seat with a black candidate.Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian resigned from his board position at the social media company on Friday in an effort to “curb racial hate,” urging his colleagues to fill his seat with a black candidate.
Ohanian, who is married to tennis star Serena Williams, said in a blog post he was making the move as “a father who needs to be able to answer his black daughter when she asks: ‘What did you do?’”Ohanian, who is married to tennis star Serena Williams, said in a blog post he was making the move as “a father who needs to be able to answer his black daughter when she asks: ‘What did you do?’”
“I believe resignation can actually be an act of leadership from people in power right now,” he said. “To everyone fighting to fix our broken nation: do not stop.”“I believe resignation can actually be an act of leadership from people in power right now,” he said. “To everyone fighting to fix our broken nation: do not stop.”
The executive and investor also pledged any future gains on his Reddit stocks to “serve the black community” and donated $1m to football player and activist Colin Kaepernick’s Know Your Rights camp, which aims to “advance the liberation and well-being of Black and Brown communities.”The executive and investor also pledged any future gains on his Reddit stocks to “serve the black community” and donated $1m to football player and activist Colin Kaepernick’s Know Your Rights camp, which aims to “advance the liberation and well-being of Black and Brown communities.”
Ohanian’s resignation is the latest example of a tech executive taking a public stand against racism and police violence. On Wednesday, Twitter chief executive officer Jack Dorsey also donated to Kaepernick’s non-profit. Google will donate $12m in funding to organizations working to address racial inequalities, chief executive officer Sundar Pichai said on Wednesday.Ohanian’s resignation is the latest example of a tech executive taking a public stand against racism and police violence. On Wednesday, Twitter chief executive officer Jack Dorsey also donated to Kaepernick’s non-profit. Google will donate $12m in funding to organizations working to address racial inequalities, chief executive officer Sundar Pichai said on Wednesday.
Reddit has been criticized for its role in stoking hatred and harassment in the past. On Tuesday, former CEO Ellen Pao accused the site of “amplifying” racism and hate.Reddit has been criticized for its role in stoking hatred and harassment in the past. On Tuesday, former CEO Ellen Pao accused the site of “amplifying” racism and hate.
DC may see its largest protest yet tomorrow, with secretary of the army Ryan McCarthy saying as many as 200,000 people may participate in the city’s demonstrations to protest the police killing of George Floyd.DC may see its largest protest yet tomorrow, with secretary of the army Ryan McCarthy saying as many as 200,000 people may participate in the city’s demonstrations to protest the police killing of George Floyd.
The DC police department has announced that a number of streets will be closed tomorrow to allow the protesters to march.The DC police department has announced that a number of streets will be closed tomorrow to allow the protesters to march.
DC police chief Peter Newsham said during a briefing yesterday, “We have a lot of public, open-source information to suggest that the event on this upcoming Saturday may be one of the largest that we’ve had in the city.”DC police chief Peter Newsham said during a briefing yesterday, “We have a lot of public, open-source information to suggest that the event on this upcoming Saturday may be one of the largest that we’ve had in the city.”
He added, “We expect that Saturday’s demonstration will, like I said, be more of the same peaceful demonstrators coming to exercise their First Amendment right in Washington, DC.”He added, “We expect that Saturday’s demonstration will, like I said, be more of the same peaceful demonstrators coming to exercise their First Amendment right in Washington, DC.”
Ohio’s governor said an Ohio national guard member was removed from a mission in DC for expressing white supremacist ideology online.Ohio’s governor said an Ohio national guard member was removed from a mission in DC for expressing white supremacist ideology online.
Republican governor Mike DeWine said the FBI had uncovered information on the member’s online activity prior to the assignment to DC, where thousands of national guard troops have been sent in response to the city’s George Floyd protests.Republican governor Mike DeWine said the FBI had uncovered information on the member’s online activity prior to the assignment to DC, where thousands of national guard troops have been sent in response to the city’s George Floyd protests.
“While I fully support everyone’s right to free speech, guardsmen and women are sworn to protect all of us, regardless of race, ethnic background or religion,” DeWine said.“While I fully support everyone’s right to free speech, guardsmen and women are sworn to protect all of us, regardless of race, ethnic background or religion,” DeWine said.
“Anyone who displays a malice toward specific groups of Americans has no place in the Ohio national guard.”“Anyone who displays a malice toward specific groups of Americans has no place in the Ohio national guard.”
DeWine said it was “highly likely” the person would be permanently removed from the guard once the FBI concludes its investigation.DeWine said it was “highly likely” the person would be permanently removed from the guard once the FBI concludes its investigation.
The governor noted Ohio sent 100 of its national guard members to DC to help respond to the protests, although local officials have complained of federal overreach as several states have sent national guard troops to the nation’s capital.The governor noted Ohio sent 100 of its national guard members to DC to help respond to the protests, although local officials have complained of federal overreach as several states have sent national guard troops to the nation’s capital.
Trump has ordered the removal of thousands of US troops from Germany by September, according to reports.Trump has ordered the removal of thousands of US troops from Germany by September, according to reports.
The Wall Street Journal reports:The Wall Street Journal reports:
The news comes one week after German chancellor Angela Merkel said she would not attend the G7 summit planned for June out of concern about coronavirus, but a White House official told the Journal that the decision on a troop reduction was unrelatd to Merkel’s announcement.The news comes one week after German chancellor Angela Merkel said she would not attend the G7 summit planned for June out of concern about coronavirus, but a White House official told the Journal that the decision on a troop reduction was unrelatd to Merkel’s announcement.
A day after Merkel said she would not attend, Trump announced he was delaying the G7 summit until September and planned to extend invitations to several other countries, including Russia, which sparked intense criticism.A day after Merkel said she would not attend, Trump announced he was delaying the G7 summit until September and planned to extend invitations to several other countries, including Russia, which sparked intense criticism.
The US park police acknowledged it was a “mistake” to say no tear gas was used on protesters near the White House on Monday, an incident that sparked international criticism of the federal government.The US park police acknowledged it was a “mistake” to say no tear gas was used on protesters near the White House on Monday, an incident that sparked international criticism of the federal government.
The US park police had confirmed in a statement earlier this week that officers deployed pepper balls against the peaceful protesters, but the agency claimed that weapon was not considered tear gas.The US park police had confirmed in a statement earlier this week that officers deployed pepper balls against the peaceful protesters, but the agency claimed that weapon was not considered tear gas.
However, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines tear gas as “chemical compounds that temporarily make people unable to function by causing irritation to the eyes, mouth, throat, lungs, and skin,” including pepper spray.However, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines tear gas as “chemical compounds that temporarily make people unable to function by causing irritation to the eyes, mouth, throat, lungs, and skin,” including pepper spray.
In an interview with Vox, US park police spokesperson Sgt. Eduardo Delgado said, “The point is we admitted to using what we used.”In an interview with Vox, US park police spokesperson Sgt. Eduardo Delgado said, “The point is we admitted to using what we used.”
Delgado continued, “I think the term ‘tear gas’ doesn’t even matter anymore. It was a mistake on our part for using ‘tear gas’ because we just assumed people would think CS or CN,” referring to two common forms of tear gas.Delgado continued, “I think the term ‘tear gas’ doesn’t even matter anymore. It was a mistake on our part for using ‘tear gas’ because we just assumed people would think CS or CN,” referring to two common forms of tear gas.
DC mayor Muriel Bowser responded to Trump calling her “incompetent” by criticizing the president’s response to the George Floyd protests.DC mayor Muriel Bowser responded to Trump calling her “incompetent” by criticizing the president’s response to the George Floyd protests.
“You know the thing about the pot and the kettle?” Bowser said of Trump’s tweet, during a press conference on the coronavirus crisis.“You know the thing about the pot and the kettle?” Bowser said of Trump’s tweet, during a press conference on the coronavirus crisis.
The Democratic mayor added, “We all have to just refocus on what’s in front of us, and that is that our nation is hurting. It’s in need of healing and leadership at all levels, all the way from the top to mayors like me, to all of us, to focus on how we bring people together.”The Democratic mayor added, “We all have to just refocus on what’s in front of us, and that is that our nation is hurting. It’s in need of healing and leadership at all levels, all the way from the top to mayors like me, to all of us, to focus on how we bring people together.”
Trump is lashing out against the mayor of DC, after Muriel Bowser sent a letter to the president requesting that all additional law enforcement officials brought to the city in response to the George Floyd protests be removed.Trump is lashing out against the mayor of DC, after Muriel Bowser sent a letter to the president requesting that all additional law enforcement officials brought to the city in response to the George Floyd protests be removed.
In a tweet, Trump described Bowser as “incompetent” and said the National Guard troops sent to DC had “saved her from great embarrassment.”In a tweet, Trump described Bowser as “incompetent” and said the National Guard troops sent to DC had “saved her from great embarrassment.”
The president ominously concluded, “If she doesn’t treat these men and women well, then we’ll bring in a different group of men and women!”The president ominously concluded, “If she doesn’t treat these men and women well, then we’ll bring in a different group of men and women!”
The tweet seemed to indicate Trump was considering sending active-duty troops to the city, even though defense secretary Mark Esper has reportedly ordered home several hundred troops from the 82nd Airborne Division who were brought to the capital region in case they needed to support local law enforcement.The tweet seemed to indicate Trump was considering sending active-duty troops to the city, even though defense secretary Mark Esper has reportedly ordered home several hundred troops from the 82nd Airborne Division who were brought to the capital region in case they needed to support local law enforcement.
Hallie Golden reports for the Guardian from Seattle:
The mayor of Tacoma, Washington, is calling for the police officers involved in the death of an African American man in March to be fired and prosecuted after cellphone footage surfaced of him being beaten while lying on the ground.
Mayor Victoria Woodards said the video made her even more “angered and disappointed” about the death of Manuel Ellis, 33, who died in police custody of respiratory arrest on 3 March after calling out “I can’t breathe.” She instructed the Pierce County Sheriff to reviewall of the actions taken by the officers on the scene.
“The officers who committed this crime should be fired and prosecuted to the full extent of the law,” said Woodards.
The video, captured by a woman whose name has not been released, appears to show two officers repeatedly punching a man lying on the ground. The woman can be heard screaming from her car, “Stop. Oh my god, stop hitting him. Just arrest him.”
The death of Ellis, a musician and father of two, has been ruled a homicide and is being investigated by the Pierce county sheriff’s department. The county medical examiner’s officer reported that he died due to hypoxia and physical restraint. Other factors that may have contributed to his death included methamphetamine intoxication and heart disease.
The four officers involved were placed on administrative leave following the arrest. The Tacoma Police Department said in a statement that they were then returned to full duty once it was determined “there were no known departmental violations.” Earlier this week they were placed again on administrative leave.
Ed Troyer, the Pierce county sheriff’s spokesman, told the Guardian that the Tacoma police officers had noticed Ellis banging on car windows. When he came up to their car asking for help and saying there were warrants out for his arrest, an officer got out of the car.
Ellis grabbed him by his vest and threw him to the ground, according to Troyer. The second officer then came out of the car and wrestled him into handcuffs. Troyer said he was lying on the ground when he started saying he couldn’t breathe. The officers turned him onto his side and called for medical units.
The White House Correspondents’ Association released a scathing statement about Trump’s press conference this morning, where the president took no questions from reporters.
WHCA president Jonathan Karl, an ABC News reporter, noted that the White House set up reporters’ chairs in a way that violated guidelines on physical distancing.
“The chairs were initially positioned in a way that was consistent with social distancing guidelines but were moved closer together by White House staff shortly before the event started,” Karl said in the statement.
“When we asked for an explanation, the White House press office told us the decision to move the chairs close together was made because ‘It looks better.’”
Karl concluded, “The health of the press corps should not be put in jeopardy because the White House wants reporters to be a prop for a ‘news conference’ where the president refused to answer any questions.”
Trump boasted about the Rose Garden set-up during his remarks, saying to reporters, “Even you, I notice you’re starting to get much closer together, looks much better, not all the way there yet, but you’ll be there soon.” The president did not note that White House officials had made the decision on the set-up.
Minneapolis officials have agreed to ban the use of police chokeholds and require officers to intervene anytime they see an unauthorized use of force in reaction to the killing of George Floyd.
The AP reports:
The announcement of the agreement comes a week and a half after former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was caught on camera putting his knee on Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes.
Chauvin has since been charged with second-degree murder, and three other former officers have been charged with aiding and abetting the murder.
Joe Biden said he was “truly glad to see that two and a half million Americans have gotten their jobs back,” as reflected in this morning’s jobs report.
However, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee chastized Trump for taking a victory lap after the unemployment rate fell slightly to a still-high 13.3%.
“I was disturbed, however, to see the president crowing this morning, basically hanging a ‘Mission Accomplished’ banner out there, where there’s so much more work to be done,” Biden said.
The former vice president noted that more than 20 million Americans are still out of work. “For an enormous swath of this country, their dreams are still on hold, and they’re still struggling to put food on the table,” Biden said.
Joe Biden argued Trump deserved no credit for this morning’s jobs report, which showed unemployment had dropped slightly to 13.3% from 14.7% a month earlier.
The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee said Trump had still failed to reckon with how his response to the coronavirus pandemic had hampered the country’s economy.
“He has no idea the depth of the pain that so many people are still enduring. He remains completely oblivious to the human toll of his indifference,” the former vice president said. “It’s time for him to step out of his own bunker, take a look around the consequences of his words and his actions.”
Biden continued, “Let’s be clear: a president who takes no responsibility for costing millions and millions of American their jobs deserves no credit when a fraction of them return.”
Joe Biden has reacted to the president’s comment this morning that this was a “great day” for George Floyd, who was killed while in police custody last week.
“George Floyd’s last words, ‘I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe,’ have echoed all across this nation and quite frankly around the world,” Biden said while delivering remarkson the jobs report in Dover, Delaware.
“For the president to try to put any other words in the mouth of George Floyd, I frankly think is despicable.”
The presumptive Democratic nominee noted Trump made the comment on the same day that the jobs report showed black unemployment rose last month, even though overall unemployment fell.
Biden said Trump’s decision to make the Floyd comment following that disheartening news “tells you everything you need to know about this man.”
The US has been downgraded from a “medium risk” to a “high risk” country in a civil unrest index by the global risk analysis company Verik Maplecroft.
As nationwide protests continue over the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, the firm finds that the “marginalisation of racial and religious minorities” is the single biggest driver of the unrest “because of the profound impact on the living standards of entire communities.” The conditions mean that direct acts of violence to express discontent “appeal to a broad range of community members.”
The unrest is expected to grow -- it has a 64.9% chance of getting worse by early next year, the analysis said. The report said the US government has “failed to eradicate the impunity with which the police act or address the lack of accountability for its actions.”
“For instance, Officer Derek Chauvin, charged with the murder of Floyd, had 18 prior complaints made against him.” The company had identified Minnesota as the highest-risk state in the US even before Floyd’s killing, by assessing the risk of violations by police and military.
This is only the second time the US has dropped into the “high risk” category. The first was when Trump was elected and took office in 2017. “The ongoing protests reveal the high degree of political polarisation, particularly around social issues like race and gender discrimination, and structural socio-economic inequalities that have become evident once more under the Trump administration,” the report said.
The US now ranks 78th among highest=risk nations, having fallen 13 places since the last quarterly report. “Eroding freedom of speech and judicial independence” could stoke more protests that hamper social distancing and slow the recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, the company said.
Military deployments will worsen the public perception that the government is seeking to restrict freedom of expression. Covid cases are already expected to continue to rise in central and southern states in the coming weeks, where some of the most intense protests are happening, according to Verisk Maplecroft’s sister company AIR.
The findings follow a similar warning from the International Crisis Group, an international security thinktank based in Brussels.
Here’s where the day stands so far:
Trump sparked outrage by saying this was a “great day” for George Floyd, who was killed in police custody last week. During a White House event where the president boasted about the country’s job gains and downplayed the protests continuing across the country, Trump said, “Hopefully George is looking down right now and saying, ‘This is a great thing that’s happening for our country.’ This is a great day for him. It’s a great day for everbody.”
The US unemployment rate surprisingly dropped to 13.3% in May, according to the latest jobs report released this morning. The news was a welcome surprise, considering economists had predicted the rate could climb to as high as 20%, but the figure is still far from the 3.5% unemployment rate recorded in February.
DC Mayor Muriel Bowser renamed the section of 16th Street in front of the White House “Black Lives Matter Plaza.” The announcement came as tensions escalate between the White House and the DC government after Trump sent thousands of additional law enforcement officers to patrol the city’s streets in response to the Floyd protests.
The blog will have more coming up, so stay tuned.
Two-thirds of Americans think Trump has increased racial tensions in the country, a new poll found as protests over the killing of George Floyd continue across the US.
According to a new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll, 67% of Americans say Trump has mostly increased racial tensions. That number includes 92% of Democrats, 73% of independents and 29% of Republicans.
In comparison, 18% of Americans said the president has decreased racial tensions, including 41% of Republicans. Another 30% of Republicans said they weren’t sure.
Lee Miringoff, the director of the institute that conducted the poll, said of the numbers, “It’s very unusual to see Republicans break when the name Trump is presented, but that is the case here.”
The DC chapter of Black Lives Matter is unimpressed with Muriel Bowser after the mayor painted a “Black Lives Matter” message on 16th Street near the White House.
The BLM chapter described the painted message as a “performative distraction from real policy changes,” calling on Bowser to defund the police.