George Floyd, under arrest for allegedly trying to use a forged $20 bill, was horrifically suffocated to death by a police officer over the course of nine grueling minutes. Floyd begged the officers for a breath of air. Bystanders pleaded with the cop to remove his knee from Floyd’s neck. But it was to no avail. Floyd died, sparking outrage across the country. I was able to ask President Trump a question on my radio show about his thoughts on the George Floyd case: “I want to get your thoughts, Mr. President, on what’s going on right now in Minneapolis. I saw that there’s at least reporting of additional not just protests, but additional looting and violence on the streets there. And the mayor is calling for calm. The National Guard has been called in. What are your thoughts on that situation? And how does the federal government play a role in calming things down and also achieving justice?” And here is how the President responded: “It is very, very sad. And we’ve notified everybody on our side on the federal side, we’re very much engaged and working with local law enforcement. That goes from Bill Barr, the attorney general, to the FBI. And we’re very much involved. We want to get to the bottom [of what] was a terrible, terrible scene. I watched it like everybody else did. That was a horrible thing that I watched. Horrible.” You would never know that was the president’s position on this crisis from his critics... or from the words of the protestors
on the streets in major cities. In the days that followed, more than 100 U.S. cities saw violent and destructive riots, including every major metropolitan area. Businesses were burned to the ground. Innocent bystanders were attacked. Where are the authorities, you might ask? So far in city after city, mayors and chiefs of police have been either woefully inept or essentially absent. Law enforcement that does not enforce the law ceases to have a purpose. And today, we are dangerously close to that reality during many of these riots. Just as we saw with the worst of the COVID-19 crisis, the government will often make things worse for you as it pretends to protect you. It’s time for all Americans to call for a stop to this. Rioters are swinging sledgehammers at the load-bearing walls of American civilization. If nobody is willing to stop them, the very foundations of our society are at risk. With the country fighting through an ongoing pandemic, the economy in a depression, and the 2020 election looming, it’s obvious Trump faces the biggest test of his presidency so far.
American Consequences
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