By Aaron Miller-
President Trump was dismissive about police brutality against black people, during an interview with CBS News ,
I response to a question as to why so many African-Americans have been killed at the hands of police.
“So are white people!” Trump said. “So are white people! What a terrible question to ask.”
Trump then added that “more white people, by the way” are killed by police than Black people. Critics say his response does not take into account that black African Americans make up a much smaller portion of the population.
A database of police shootings since 2015 compiled by the Washington Post, 1,301 Black people have been killed by the police in the past five and a half years. 2,495 whites were killed.
Although Americans make up a majority of those killed by police, but black Americans are roughly 3.5 times more likely to be killed by law enforcement, according to a 2018 study.
Trump also said the Confederate battle flag is a “freedom of speech” issue. He called it it “very simple” and dismissed the idea that the flag is hurtful to Black Americans and others who see it as a racist symbol.
“I know people who like the Confederate flag, and they’re not thinking of slavery,” Trump said when asked whether he understood the pain it caused people because of its association with slavery.
President Trump has previously expressed sympathy with the U.S police force whom he says have been given a hard time by the press, despite doing a challenging job. The American president has also criticised the four police officers on trial for the killing of George Floyd for all the uproar in the aftermath of Floyd’s death.
He has vowed to review the way the police force is regulated in order to enforce stricter disciplines to prevent a repeat of such brutal killings,