President Donald Trump has downplayed police violence against blacks in the United States, saying that “more white people” are killed by police officers.
During a CBS News interview that aired on Tuesday, the Republican president was asked why blacks were still dying at the hands of law enforcement.
“And so are whites, so are whites. What a terrible question to ask. So are whites. More white people, by the way. More white people,” Trump replied.
According to an analysis in the Washington Post updated on Monday, almost half of the people killed by the police are white, while 23 percent are black. But African-Americans, who make up only 13 percent of the population, are shot at a disproportionate rate compared to white Americans, who make up 60 percent of the population, according to the analysis.
The murder on May 25 of George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, while in police custody in Minneapolis sparked protests across the United States under the banner of the Black Lives Matter movement and led to a greater focus on police violence against blacks. .
In response to Trump’s comments, Jeffery Robinson of the United States Civil Liberties Union said in a statement that his comments were racist.
Robinson said Trump’s response “not only ignores the fact that police disproportionately kill black and brown people, but provides the basis for dangerous and unconstitutional police practices that result in the deaths of black people on a regular basis.”
“Trump’s racism is so absolute that he continues to refuse to give tacit recognition to the epidemic of police violence against blacks in the United States,” he said, accusing him of “using the violence and suffering perpetrated against black communities as a target- supremacist dog whistle before the next election. “
Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump defended police departments, saying “they do an incredible job,” adding: “You can have a dishonest and terrible police officer, sometimes as you do in any industry, any business. , in any profession “. “
Already accused of failing to take a clear stance against systematic racism and police brutality, Trump has intensified his rhetoric against the Black Lives Matter movement in recent weeks, focusing his remarks on the violence that occasionally breaks out on the margins of peaceful protests.
Recent protests across the country have added prominence to a long-standing debate over the flight of the Confederate flag in parts of the country and whether statues honoring Confederate leaders during the US Civil War should be removed from public view.
When asked by CBS if the flag should “be removed,” Trump replied, “I know people who like the Confederate flag and don’t think of slavery.”
He added: “Very simple. I like it, I don’t like it, it is freedom of expression.”
In another interview with the conservative network Townhall Media, Trump defended a white couple captured in a widely shared video while brandishing weapons outside their home in the city of St Louis during a protest against racial injustice.
Trump claimed that Mark and Patricia McCloskey “would be badly beaten if they were lucky,” and said their home would have been “totally looted and probably burned down” if they had not done so.
“And now I understand someone local, they want to prosecute these people. It is a disgrace,” he said.
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