President Trump's Answer On Why Black People Keep Dying From Police - 'So Are White People'

President Trump discounted the issue of police killing Black people in greater proportion than whites, saying white people are killed by officers too. In an interview with CBS, Trump ignored statistics indicating Blacks are killed at a much higher rate than whites in confrontations with law enforcement.

When pressed about police violence and why Blacks are “still dying at the hands of law enforcement in this country,” Trump responded: “So are white people. So are white people. What a terrible question to ask. So are white people,” adding, “more white people, by the way. More white people.”

Technically, he is nearly correct. Almost half of all people shot and killed by police annually are white. The raw numbers, however, ignore the fact that 76% of Americans are white and 13% Black, meaning the death rate is much higher among Blacks.

Trump's generalization is typical of the views he has expressed since the birth of his political career 2015 when he referred to Hispanics as “rapists” and “criminals” attempting to flood into the U.S. through Mexico.

It appeared to escalate after the “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017 that resulted in the death of a counterprotester. Trump seemingly avoided condemning the “alt-right” rally comprised largely of White supremacists, instead saying there were “fine people on both sides.”

This has continued today in the wake of George Floyd’s death at the hands of Minneapolis police officer in May.

One of the talking points that emerged from the Black Lives Matter protests in the wake of Floyd’s death was the removal of statues of Confederate leaders across the U.S., putting Trump, who has actively defended the monuments as key parts of America’s “history,” at odds with local and state leaders. This culminated in an executive order protecting federal monuments and requiring legal action against anyone attempting to vandalize or remove them.