President Donald Trump has admitted that the killing of George Floyd was “terrible” but refused to answer a question about police violence against Black Americans, instead pointing out that “more white people” were the victims of police violence.
Floyd, a black handcuffed man, died in Minneapolis police custody on May 25 after Derek Chauvin, a white Minneapolis officer, pinned him to the ground and kneeled on his neck for nearly nine minutes, ignoring his repeated cries of ‘I can’t breathe.’
During an interview with CBS News senior investigative correspondent Catherine Herridge, Trump was asked why Black Americans are “still dying at the hands of law enforcement in this country.”
“And so are white people, so are white people,” Trump replied.
“What a terrible question to ask. So are white people, more white people by the way, more white people,” Trump continued.
According to researchers, Black Americans are more likely to die at the hands of law enforcement than White people.
One study published in 2018 found that Black men are roughly 3.5 times more likely to be killed by law enforcement than White men. Another study released in 2019 found that one in 1,000 Black men in the U.S. can expect to die at the hands of police over the course of their lifetimes.
