Many in the United States are reeling in the wake of the murder of a black man named George Floyd by police officers in Minneapolis. Floyd’s death has sparked angry demonstrations around the country and calls for those responsible for the heinous violence against Floyd to be held accountable; the only initial action undertaken was the firing of four cops from the local police department, but under ordinary circumstances without the cover of the all-too-privileged police force, those involved would no doubt already be in jail. On Thursday, Utah’s Republican Senator Mitt Romney joined those speaking out about the situation, calling on Americans to use the situation to confront racism.
Romney commented:
‘No Americans should fear enmity and harm from those sworn to protect us. The death of George Floyd must not be in vain: Our shock and outrage must grow into collective determination to extinguish forever such racist abuse.’
No Americans should fear enmity and harm from those sworn to protect us. The death of George Floyd must not be in vain: Our shock and outrage must grow into collective determination to extinguish forever such racist abuse.
— Mitt Romney (@MittRomney) May 28, 2020
His comments contrast quite strikingly with the response to the situation from the actual current president of the United States, Donald Trump, who, of course, has fueled his rise to national political stardom with racist rhetoric. Nowhere in his own comments about the situation does Trump mention the systematic problem of racism in the United States. Instead, he calls for “justice” and calls Floyd’s death “sad and tragic,” and that’s pretty much it.
The president posted:
‘At my request, the FBI and the Department of Justice are already well into an investigation as to the very sad and tragic death in Minnesota of George Floyd. I have asked for this investigation to be expedited and greatly appreciate all of the work done by local law enforcement. My heart goes out to George’s family and friends. Justice will be served!’
….I have asked for this investigation to be expedited and greatly appreciate all of the work done by local law enforcement. My heart goes out to George’s family and friends. Justice will be served!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 27, 2020
The situation is far from the first time in which the president’s own response to a situation like Floyd’s death has come up short. The U.S. hit 100,000 reported Coronavirus deaths this week, and although Trump did eventually acknowledge the grim marker in a tweet, that came after he spent hours on end pushing his usual ignorant ranting.
Check out Twitter’s response to Romney:
