Joe Biden visited a protest site in Delaware to observe the aftermath of demonstrations following the death of George Floyd in police custody.
The presumptive Democratic nominee traveled to Wilmington on Sunday, a day after protesters gathered there to voice their anger against police brutality, Biden shared in an Instagram post reflecting on the trip.
“We are a nation in pain, but we must not allow this pain to destroy us. We are a nation enraged, but we cannot allow our rage to consume us. We are a nation exhausted, but we will not allow our exhaustion to defeat us,” he said. “The only way to bear this pain is to turn all that anguish to purpose. And as President, I will help lead this conversation — and more importantly, I will listen, just as I did today visiting the site of last night’s protests in Wilmington.”
Demonstrations have spread across the country in response to footage showing a white Minnesota police officer pinning Floyd, an unarmed black man, by placing his knee on the back of his neck for several minutes until he lost consciousness and was later pronounced dead. The officer, Derek Chauvin, has since been fired, along with three other officers involved in the incident, and was charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter Friday.
Wilmington initially saw peaceful protests over the weekend, but they turned violent later Saturday when people began looting businesses.
“It’s disheartening, disappointing,” Mayor Mike Purzycki told Delaware News Journal on Sunday. “I’m trying to reconcile what happened with Minneapolis with what happened here. I’m feeling the revulsion in both cases. I think it’s important that all sides come together and try to understand the grievances, but talk about solutions.”
Other cities nationwide saw protests turn into riots as people looted, committed arson, destroyed property, and clashed with police. In response, 5,000 National Guard soldiers and airmen were activated Sunday morning in 15 states and Washington, D.C.
Biden denounced the violence in an earlier statement, his most forceful condemnation of violence yet.
“Protesting such brutality is right and necessary. It’s an utterly American response. But burning down communities and needless destruction is not. Violence that endangers lives is not. Violence that guts and shutters businesses that serve the community is not,” the former vice president said.
