Donald Trump invited several Black families to The White House on Tuesday before signing an executive order on police reform. Needless to say, the meeting did not go well.
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The Black families Trump brought to The White House included the family of Ahmaud Arbery, the 25-year-old Black man who was shot to death while jogging in Georgia; the family of Botham Jean, the 26-year-old Dallas accountant who was shot in his apartment in 2018 by an off-duty Dallas Police officer; and the family of Antwon Rose, the 17-year-old who was fatally shot by an East Pittsburgh police officer in 2018. The families of Jemel Roberson, Michael Dean, Darius Tarver, and Cameron Lamb — black men who were killed by police — as well as Everett Palmer, who died in jail, were also present.
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‘The Donald’ foolishly thought he could bring the Black families into the Oval Office, seize the moment as a photo-op so that he could then pretend he was compassionate toward their cause, then use the families as a prop during the signing of a weak executive order in the Rose Garden flanked by a dozen police officials.
Too bad for Trump, the Black families were not having it!
According to activist Shaun King (who is acting as a spokesman for one of the family attorneys), the closed-door meeting became “very contentious” when Trump sidestepped concerns about systemic racism in America’s police departments. Then, once the families realized they were only invited to serve as “set dressing” for Trump’s big signing event, they each said “Thanks, but no thanks” to any photos and NO to standing behind ‘The Donald’ in the Rose Garden.
Still, Trump found a way to try to use the Black families to his advantage.
“All Americans mourn by your side. Your loved ones will not have died in vain,” Trump told the families during his remarks. “We are one nation. We grieve together. And we heal together.”
Not surprisingly, the Black families of the victims and the Black community as a whole were not impressed.
The meeting appeared to be “arranged less to hear about these families that had been horribly impacted by this police violence” and more about “an opportunity for Trump and [Attorney General William] Barr and others to highlight police unions who were there,” King said.
He added that the families in the room felt “very uncomfortable because they were each sitting between police officers.”
The setup felt “poorly conceived” to those in the room, King said, since those “whose loved ones were killed by police (were) surrounded by police. And police union leaders seemed really impervious to the stories and concerns of the those in the room.”
The families in attendance were right to be skeptical. Not long after offering a paragraph or two to appear sympathetic toward their loss, Trump launched into his support of police.
“We have to give them great respect for what they do,” Trump said while noting that 89 cops were killed in the line of duty in 2019. He then added that the federal government was “ready, willing, and able to help” put a stop to the protests and other unrest in US cities.
“Americans want law and order. They demand law and order. They may not say it, they may not be talking about it, but that’s what they want. Some of them don’t know that is what they want but that is what they want.”
There will be “safe, beautiful, elegant justice and liberty for all,” Trump vowed before signing his order while surrounded by police.
The Black families were nowhere to be found.
The families in attendance were right to be skeptical. Not long after offering a paragraph or two to appear sympathetic toward their loss, Trump launched into his support of police. [….] – DJ
In other words the whole setup was a Setup. But what were those families expecting?! Seriously. We’re talking about Donald J. Trump. By now who doesn’t know just Who and What Trump is!?! He is the embodiment of toxic waste and he is always…Always…true to his nature. “When someone shows you who they are believe them” – Maya Angelou
Frankly, when I heard the news that those families would be meeting with him I was shocked. I couldn’t believe any Black family with a spec of intelligence and sense of decency and respect would ever agree to such a thing.
But they met with him and now they know that that was colossal error in judgement.