Trump says 'more white people' than Blacks are killed by US police
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Police violence against African Americans has been at the centre of attention in the United States since May 25 when a Minneapolis police officer knelt on George Floyd's, a Black man, neck for nearly nine minutes. Floyd’s death sparked protests across the United States and the world.
United States President Donald Trump has downplayed police violence against Black people, citing “more white people” are killed by police officers.
“And 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,” Trump said in response to a question during an interview with CBS News. The question was apparently about the number of Black people killed at the hands of US police.
Police violence against African Americans has been at the centre of attention in the United States since May 25 when a Minneapolis police officer knelt on George Floyd's, a Black man, neck for nearly nine minutes. Floyd’s death sparked protests across the United States and the world.
According to a Washington Post analysis updated on Monday, half of the people shot and killed by US police are white, but Black Americans are shot at a disproportionate rate. They account for less than 13 per cent of the US population but are killed by police at more than twice the rate of white Americans, the newspaper analysis found.
The recent social unrest also raised new questions about the continued flying of the Confederate battle flag in some areas of the country and whether statues honouring Confederate leaders during the US Civil War should be removed from high-profile public places.
To this end, Trump responded: “I know people that like the Confederate flag and they’re not thinking about slavery.”