Biden Rips Trump for Calling It a 'Great Day' for George Floyd

President had cited police victim in celebrating drop in unemployment
By Bob Cronin,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 5, 2020 4:05 PM CDT
Biden Calls Trump Invoking George Floyd 'Despicable'
Joe Biden takes off his mask before speaking Friday in Dover, Del.   (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Invoking the name of a black man killed by white police officers, who's become a symbol of police brutality and racial injustice, in celebrating an economic report didn't go over well with Joe Biden. President Trump had cited George Floyd earlier in the day Friday at the White House, saying "hopefully, George is looking down right now" and "this is a great day for him." In a campaign speech in Delaware, the BBC reports, Biden noted that Floyd's last words were, "I can't breathe, I can't breathe," which the former vice president said echoed around the world. "For the president to try to put any other words in the mouth of George Floyd I frankly think is despicable," Biden said.

The report Trump was talking about showed a decline in unemployment, which Biden said he was "truly glad to see," per CNN. But the likely Democratic presidential nominee said he was disturbed by Trump's celebration. "So many Americans are still hurting," Biden said. Among black Americans, per Business Insider, unemployment is at its highest point in more than 10 years: 16.8%. Speaking at Delaware State University, a public historically black university in Dover, Biden said, "The president who takes no responsibility for costing millions and millions of Americans their jobs deserves no credit when a fraction of them return." (More Joe Biden 2020 stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X