- Joe Biden slammed President Donald Trump for suggesting on Friday that George Floyd, the Black man killed by Minneapolis police last week, is celebrating from heaven, possibly because of new US employment numbers.
- On Friday, Trump said he hoped Floyd was "looking down right now" and celebrating "a great day for him ... in terms of equality" as he announced unexpectedly strong May jobs numbers.
- Biden said that it was "despicable" of Trump to "put ... words" into Floyd's mouth.
- It's unclear what the president was referring to when he said that Friday was a "great day in terms of equality."
- The White House insisted on Friday that Trump was referring to "the fight for equal justice and equal treatment under the law," rather than the jobs report.
Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, slammed President Donald Trump for suggesting on Friday that George Floyd, the Black man killed by Minneapolis police last week, is celebrating from heaven today.
Biden noted that among Floyd's last words before he fell unconscious as a police officer kneeled on his neck were "I can't breathe." The former vice president called Trump's suggestion "despicable."
"For the president to try to put any other words in the mouth of George Floyd I frankly think is despicable," Biden said at the beginning of a speech he delivered Friday afternoon.
The economy added 2.5 million jobs in May, bringing the unemployment rate down to 13.3% from the 14.7% rate in April — an unexpectedly strong month amid the economic crisis.
In his Friday press conference, Trump took a victory lap on the economy, boasted about the US recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, which has now killed over 105,000 Americans, and spoke about the issue of racial justice and police brutality.
While speaking extemporaneously, Trump said he hoped Floyd was "looking down right now" and celebrating the progress the country is making.
"Equal justice under the law must mean that every American receives equal treatment in every encounter with law enforcement regardless of race, color, gender, or creed," Trump said. "We all saw what happened last week. We can't let that happen. Hopefully George is looking down right now and saying this is a great thing that's happening for our country. It's a great day for him, it's a great day for everybody ... this is a great day in terms of equality."
It's unclear what the president was referring to when he said that Friday was a "great day in terms of equality." The White House insisted on Friday that Trump was referring to "the fight for equal justice and equal treatment under the law," rather than the jobs report.
The president went on to say that his "plan" to deal with systemic racism in America is building a strong economy.
"We had the strongest economy anywhere in the world, and now we're going to have an economy that's even stronger," he said.
Unemployment among Black Americans is at 16.8% — the highest level in more than 10 years.
Biden said he was "disappointed" to see Trump "basically hanging a 'Mission Accomplished' banner out there" even as the coronavirus continues to ravage the country and tens of millions of Americans remain unemployed.
"These are some of the sternest challenges the country has ever faced and Donald Trump is patting himself on the back," Biden said during his speech on Friday. "He just has no idea, in my view, what is going on in this country. He has no idea the depth of the pain that so many people are still enduring."
He added, "It's time for him to step out of his own bunker, take a look at the consequences of his words and his actions."
Grace Panetta contributed to this report.
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