President Trump’s signing of an executive order on police reform at the White House Rose Garden on Tuesday quickly veered into an event where he aired his grievances on a number of non-related topics.
Shortly after announcing his police reform executive order — which he said includes banning chokeholds “unless an officer’s life is at risk” — the President went off script to jab Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and tout the stock market’s performance amid an economy hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Here’s how Trump’s executive order performance played out:
Reminder: I’m the President of “law and order”
Soon after his remarks about being “one nation” united in grief amid protests against police brutality in the wake of George Floyd’s death, Trump argued that “law and order must be restored.”
“Americans want law and order, they demand law and order. They may not say it, they may not be talking about it, but that’s what they want,” Trump said. “Some of them don’t know that that’s what they want, but that’s what they want. They understand that when you remove the police, you hurt those that have the least, the most.”
Trump: "Americans want law and order and demand law and order … Some of them don't know that that's what they want but that's what they want." pic.twitter.com/JmFJbyipvR
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) June 16, 2020
Jabs at his presidential rival Joe Biden
Not long after suggesting now is not the time for the “stoking of fear and division,” Trump threw a punch at former President Barack Obama and his then-VP Biden, accusing them of “never” trying to reform policing tactics.
“We will have reform without undermining our many great and extremely talented law enforcement officers,” Trump said. “President Obama and Vice President Biden never even tried to fix this during their eight-year period. The reason they didn’t try is because they had no idea how to do it and it is a complex situation.”
Trump: "President Obama and vice president Biden never even tried to fix this during their eight-year period. The reason they didn't try is because they had no idea how to do it." pic.twitter.com/VnCwEo7imZ
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) June 16, 2020
Calling school choice the “civil rights of all time”
After hyping his belief that his administration is “focused on creating opportunity, fighting for equal justice and truly delivering results,” Trump insisted his team is fighting for school choice, which “really is the civil rights of all time in this country.”
“Frankly, school choice is the civil rights statement of the year, of the decade and probably beyond because all children have to have access to quality education,” Trump said. “A child’s zip code in America should never determine their future. That’s what was happening.”
Trump went on to reiterate that all children deserve equal opportunity “because we are all made equal by God” before arguing that “a great jobs market and thriving economy is probably the best thing” that his administration can do to help black, hispanic and Asian communities.
Trump: School choice is "really is the civil rights of all time in this country." pic.twitter.com/uAgR7Z9qwF
— Talking Points Memo (@TPM) June 16, 2020
Brags about retail sale increases amid the COVID-19 pandemic
After claiming that he’s “building up” the economy after the COVID-19 pandemic ruined what were once “the best unemployment and employment numbers,” Trump touted strong performances in retail sales.
“Jobs are rapidly coming back and retail sales that were just announced two hours ago, just a little while ago, they’re up a staggering 17.7%,” Trump said, receiving applause from attendees before adding how “amazing” it is that projections exceeded expectations. “What does that mean? The stock market went through the roof. These good numbers, they drove it up to a level that were almost at the same level, hard to believe.”
Trump added that the country’s economy is “getting close to the level” it was before the pandemic and “before all of the things that you’ve seen happen happened.”
Getting nostalgic: "Every group. Everybody was thrilled. Everybody had just about high-paying jobs. Our country was never in a better position and we were planning on massive growth. It was happening. It was already there." pic.twitter.com/j8Rzl2JMmP
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) June 16, 2020
Falsely claiming that an AIDS vaccine exists
Trump predicted that there will be a “very successful” vaccine for COVID-19 before the end of the year before claiming that “incredible” scientists and doctors developed an AIDS vaccine. There is no such vaccine.
The President quickly corrected himself in a deadpan manner by saying that there is a therapeutic way to treat AIDS.
“AIDS was a death sentence,” Trump said. “Now people will live a life with a pill — it’s an incredible thing.”
Trump: "They have come up with the AIDS vaccine. " pic.twitter.com/0BzSJHzQwG
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) June 16, 2020
Did he manage not to piss himself during the event?
When the top issues on American’s minds are Covid-19 (where is testing and tracing?), massive unemployment, police brutality and racism what is Trump’s response?
SQUIRREL!
That always happens later.
Joe just needs to keep asking, “are you better off now than you were four years ago?” Just keep asking that question. Nothing more has to be said.