Americans across the United States continue to protest against the murder of George Floyd by police and the pervasiveness of police brutality against Black people in the country overall.
As a result, numerous lawmakers, entities, have come out in support of the Black Lives Matter movement with statements, donations, policy changes, and at least one commitment to disbanding a local police department in favor of a brand new community based system.
President Donald Trump, in his way, has made his stance clear as well. The President insists that while they're may be a few "bad cops," the system of policing in the United States itself isn't broken. He's called the murder of George Floyd "a sad event" but has yet to explicitly declare that Black Lives Matter.
He's set to deliver his first rally in months in Tulsa, Oklahoma—the site of the 1921 Black Wall Street Massacre—on Juneteenth, a holiday celebrating the last gasps of slavery. There, he'll reportedly deliver a speech on race relations written by confirmed white supremacist Stephen Miller.
The decision sparked outrage from Americans across the country, especially from Black lawmakers.
That's largely why a recent Politico headline presenting Trump as torn between his largely white evangelical base and a country calling for racial justice left readers frustrated.
The body of the article includes more context:"THE FOLLOWING THINGS HAPPENED in one single week: President DONALD TRUMP scheduled a listening session on police reform. He had staff working feverishly behind the scenes to craft an executive order to address systemic ills in law enforcement. His team signaled they were interested in Sen. TIM SCOTT'S (R-S.C.) reform effort. …
… BUT HE ALSO defended a couple of cops who shoved a 75-year-old activist, and defended the honor of dead Confederate generals for whom U.S. military bases have been named."
While it's true that Trump has displayed at least a surface commitment to moderate police reform, you'd be hard pressed to argue any of his stances this week entered an ideological territory that became mutually exclusive to pleasing his base.
The listening session on police reform the piece mentions happened on Thursday in Dallas, and mostly consisted of panelists showering the President with praise. Trump even entered to Lee Greenwood's God Bless the USA—the signature song of Trump's rallies.
People were confounded trying to recall any instance where Trump seemed conflicted between catering to his base or truly delving into the work of uniting a country of segregated experiences.
Some said that Trump isn't torn by the upheaval—he thrives off of it.
Yikes.
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