Obama Weighs In on George Floyd

'This shouldn't be normal in 2020 America'
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted May 29, 2020 12:58 PM CDT
Obama Weighs In on George Floyd
A 2018 photo of former President Obama.   (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, File)

President Obama has weighed in on the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. "This shouldn't be 'normal' in 2020 America," he wrote in a statement posted online. "It can't be 'normal.' If we want our children to grow up in a nation that lives up to its highest ideals, we can and must be better." The former president said it is primarily up to officials in the city to investigate Floyd's death and mete out the proper punishment. "But it falls on all of us, regardless of our race or station—including the majority of men and women in law enforcement who take pride in doing their tough job the right way, every day—to work together to create a 'new normal' in which the legacy of bigotry and unequal treatment no longer infects our institutions or our hearts."

Obama touched on other recent incidents, including the death of Ahmaud Arbery and the woman who called 911 on a black birdwatcher in Central Park, noting that "for millions of Americans being treated differently on account of race is tragically, painfully, maddeningly 'normal.'" Read his statement in full here. (The officer filmed kneeling on Floyd's neck is now in custody, while President Trump's tweet about the response to protests was the subject of controversy with Twitter.)

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