Members of the media and publications appeared to twist President Donald Trump’s words about George Floyd during a press conference Friday.
Trump was in the …
Members of the media and publications appeared to twist President Donald Trump’s words about George Floyd during a press conference Friday.
Trump was in the midst of a speech about the positive May jobs report when he went on a tangent and began to discuss “equal justice under the law.” He said Floyd, who died in police custody after one officer put his knee on the man’s neck for an extended period of time, would be “saying this is a great thing that’s happening for our country… in terms of equality.”
Shortly after, reporters and publications claimed that Trump was saying Floyd would be pleased with the jobs report. However, an extended clip of his comments indicate the president was not saying that.
“Equal justice under the law must mean that every American receives equal treatment in every encounter with law enforcement regardless of race, color, gender or creed,” Trump said. “They have to receive fair treatment from law enforcement. They have to receive it. We all saw what happened last week. We can’t let that happen.”
“Hopefully, George is looking down right now in saying this is a great thing happening for our country. This is a great day for him, a great day for everybody. This is great day for everybody. This is a great, great day in terms of the equality. It’s really what the Constitution requires and it’s what our country is all about.”
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Members of the press cut short Trump’s first portion of the segment, taking it out of context and suggesting the president was referring to jobs when describing how Floyd would be proud.
“Trump suggests that George Floyd would be happy about the jobs numbers: ‘Hopefully, George is looking down right now in saying this is a great thing happening for our country. A great day for him, a great day for everybody,” New York Times White House correspondent Peter Baker tweeted.
