Donald Trump Denounced Black Lives Matter during an interview with Fox News’ Laura Ingraham.
What We Know:
- In an interview with Fox News, President Donald Trump criticized Black Lives Matter again, called it a “Marxist organization” and said it was “discriminatory.” “The first time I heard of Black Lives Matter, I said, ‘That’s a terrible name.’ It’s so discriminatory,” he said to Laura Ingraham. “It’s bad for Black people. It’s bad for everybody.” Trump also called corporations that donated millions of dollars to Black Lives Matter “weak” for taking the “easiest path” and said that they are “led by weak people.”
- His comments follow the protests and riots that have been occurring in Portland, Oregon, where there was a fatal shooting amid the clashes between supporters of Trump and protesters and resulted in one fatality. The comments also follow the Kenosha shooting where two people died and one injured after a 17-year-old fired his gun at protesters, which followed the police shooting of Jacob Blake.
- On Tuesday, Trump paid a visit to Kenosha even after the governor of Wisconsin urged Trump not to because it would “hinder (their) healing” and “delay (their) work to overcome division and move forward together.” And while Trump’s trip centered around praising the police officers, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden visited Kenosha Thursday and turned the attention to Jacob Blake and his family.
- On the topic of the police officers using excessive force, Trump defended police officers. “You could be a police officer for 15 years and all of a sudden you’re confronted,” he said. “You’ve got a quarter of a second to make a decision. If you don’t make the decision and you’re wrong, you’re dead. People choke under those circumstances, and they make a bad decision.”
This entire week, Trump has tried to push the blame on Biden for the violence in American cities.
