Obama Weighs In On George Floyd Killing: ‘Shouldn’t Be Normal in 2020’

President Obama speaks at the Ray and Joan Kroc Corps Community Center during a visit to Camden, N.J., Monday, May 18, 2015. Obama also visited with local law enforcement and youth in the community. On Monday, Presid... President Obama speaks at the Ray and Joan Kroc Corps Community Center during a visit to Camden, N.J., Monday, May 18, 2015. Obama also visited with local law enforcement and youth in the community. On Monday, President Obama also banned the federal government from providing some military-style equipment to local police departments and put much stricter controls on others. (Amy Newman/The Record via AP) MORE LESS
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In sharp contrast with comments made earlier by President Trump, former President Barack Obama on Friday said the killing of George Floyd at the hands of a white police officer in Minneapolis “shouldn’t be normal in 2020 America.”

“For millions of Americans, being treated differently on account of race is tragically, painfully, maddeningly ‘normal,'” the President wrote in a statement that he shared on Twitter. “Whether it’s while dealing with the health care system, or interacting with the criminal justice system, or jogging down the street, or just watching birds in a park.”  

As president, Obama was at times criticized for treading lightly on issues of race and playing the middleman on topics of racial inequality.

President Trump, however, saddled with longstanding criticism for siding with systems that have criminalized people of color, in one breath called for honoring the memory of Floyd’s life. But in another he warned that the “thugs” involved in protests that turned violent, led to looting and left a police station in flames wouldn’t be let off easy. “When the looting starts, the shooting starts,” he tweeted.

The phrase echoes the bloody mantra of a 1960s-era Miami police chief, and the President’s tweet was swiftly flagged by Twitter for failing to follow the social media company’s guidelines by “glorifying violence.”

Bigotry and inequality “can’t be ‘normal’” in the building of a better America, Obama added in his statement, imploring that the Floyd case be “investigated thoroughly” so that “justice is ultimately done.”

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Notable Replies

  1. “Shouldn’t be normal in 2020” is too mild.

  2. Let me guess: the Right will shortly be along to drown Obama’s message out with a lot of bad-faith pearl-clutching about the sheer lack of class and decorum when a former President criticises the current office-holder. We know that Donnie’s going to go quietly and keep his thoughts to himself when he is finally evicted, right?

  3. But Joe Biden used “ain’t”.

    That’s what Republicans get outraged about…

  4. I dont think so. Think about it. What single adjective could be more horrifying when applied to this shit?

  5. Thank you President Obama!

    We must bring all of the injustices to a DEAD END!

    NO MORE DAYS LIKE THIS! NO MORE!!!

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