When asked about the Black Lives Matter movement on Sunday, Donald Trump said that he felt that police actions toward black individuals constituted a “crisis,” but that police need the “power” to fight “rampant” crime.
In discussing the shooting of an unarmed black man by a white police officer, NBC’s “Meet the Press” host Chuck Todd asked Trump, “Do you see this as a crisis in America?”
“It’s a massive crisis. It’s a double crisis. What’s happening and people. You know, I look at things. And I see it on television. And some horrible mistakes are made,” Trump responded. “At the same time, we have to give power back to the police because crime is rampant. And I’m a big person that believes in very big– you know, we need police.”
Trump said that cities like Baltimore and Chicago need a heavy police presence.
“They need strong police protection. And those police can do the job. But their jobs are being taken away from them. At the same time, you’ve got these other problems,” he said. “There is turmoil in our country.”
When asked if he understood why black people don’t trust the police, Trump said he did.
“But at the same time, we have to give power back to the police because we have to have law and order. Hundreds of killings are in Baltimore. Hundreds of killings are in Chicago. And New York is not doing so great in terms of that front,” he added. “We have to give strength and power back to the police. And you’re always going to have mistakes made. And you’re always going to have bad apples. But you can’t let that stop the fact that police have to regain some control of this tremendous crime wave and killing wave that’s happening in this country.”
H/t ThinkProgress
