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WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump was irritated by a journalist’s question about the police killing African-Americans and defended the right to display the Confederate flag while continuing to play across racial divisions in an interview.
In the interview, Trump seemed puzzled when asked why African Americans continue to die at the hands of the police.
“And also the whites. So are whites. What a terrible question to ask. White people too, “Trump told CBS’s Catherine Herridge.” More white people, by the way. More white people.
There is no national database that tracks the shootings involved by the police. But studies have shown that black Americans are much more likely to be killed by the police, even though more whites, who represent a larger portion of the population, are killed. A study examining the use of lethal force by law enforcement from 2009 to 2012, for example, found that while the victims were mostly white (52%), they were disproportionately black (32%) with a 2.8 times higher mortality rate among Blacks than Whites.
In the interview, Trump also defended the use of the Confederate flag, despite saying in 2015 that he believed the flag belongs to a museum.
“Everything I say is freedom of expression. It’s very simple. My attitude is freedom of expression, “said Trump. “Very simple. I like it, I don’t like it, it’s freedom of expression.”
When asked if he understood that the flag is a painful symbol for many because it is a reminder of slavery, Trump replied that some “people love it,” adding: “And I know people who like the Confederate flag and don’t they are thinking about slavery. “
