Kamala Harris Blasts Trump: ’Keep George Floyd’s Name Out of Your Mouth’
On Friday, President Trump gestured to the sky and said that today’s positive jobs report marks a “great day” for George Floyd, who was killed by police last week.
“Hopefully, George is looking down right now and saying this is a great thing that’s happening for our country. It’s a great day for him, it’s a great day for everybody. It’s a great day for everybody. This is a great, great day,” Trump said.
The president’s tone-deaf and callous remarks came one day after Floyd’s funeral and brought immediate condemnation. Democratic Sen. Kamala Harris, who just yesterday took to the Senate floor to deliver an impassioned speech in response to Republican Sen. Rand Paul’s blocking of an anti-lynching bill, told Trump to not speak Floyd’s name unless it’s in the context of addressing a movement that is fighting against police brutality.
“Keep George Floyd’s name out of your mouth until you can say Black Lives Matter,” Harris wrote in a tweet tagging the president.
.@realDonaldTrump, keep George Floyd’s name out of your mouth until you can say Black Lives Matter.pic.twitter.com/YJ6wPw0Hto
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) June 5, 2020
Trump was soaking in the glory of the better than expected job gains during a Rose Garden news conference where he signed into law new revisions to the Paycheck Protection Act. But according to Time, even with Friday’s dip, the 13.3 percent unemployment rate is still consistent with the numbers of the Great Depression — hardly a cause for celebration of any kind.
The president’s misogyny and contempt for the media were also on display during Friday’s announcement. When Yamiche Alcindor, a Black woman reporter from PBS, began asking Trump questions, he shushed her by putting his finger to his lips.
Trump touted his handling of the economy as a cureall, saying that it’s “the greatest thing that can happen for race relations.”
Alcindor then countered by asking Trump how he can claim success when “Black unemployment went up by .1 percent. Asian American unemployment went up .5 percent. How is that a victory?”
Trump disrespectfully replied, “You are something.”
— PoliticsVideo23 (@politicsvideo23) June 5, 2020