President Trump pushed back on a question from a CBS reporter on why black people are continuing to die in police custody in the United States.
“So are white people,” Trump responded to CBS News’s Catherine Herridge in a Tuesday interview when she asked, “Why are African Americans still dying at the hands of law enforcement in this country?”
“So are white people. What a terrible question to ask. So are white people. More white people, by the way. More white people,” the president added.
.@CBS_Herridge: “Why are African Americans still dying at the hands of law enforcement in this country?”
Pres. Trump: “So are white people. So are white people. What a terrible question to ask. So are white people. More white people by the way. More white people.” pic.twitter.com/HeTcQ7NBVy
— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) July 14, 2020
Herridge mentioned the May 25 death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody prior to asking the question. Floyd, who is black, died after a white police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes despite pleas that he couldn’t breathe from the pressure.
Floyd’s death led to mass protests around the world, calling for an end to police brutality and racial injustice. Protesters have been demanding justice for other black victims of racism and police violence, such as Breonna Taylor, who was fatally shot by police while serving a no-knock warrant on her apartment, and Ahmaud Arbery, who was fatally shot by a former police officer and his son while running in Atlanta.
Since Floyd’s death, attention has also been placed on the police shooting of Rayshard Brooks, an Atlanta man who was shot and killed by an officer after he resisted arrest and obtained a police Taser during a struggle with officers.
