Today was a monumental day in America, as the President of the United States emerged from the White House to deliver a staunch and stern statement regarding the ongoing protests over the death of George Floyd.
Floyd was in handcuffs and laying prone on the street in Minneapolis when officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for 8 minutes and 43 seconds, killing Floyd. There was no resisting arrest, nor was there any violence. In fact, Floyd was unresponsive for several minutes while Chauvin continued to kneel on him.
As one could imagine, the imagery of Floyd’s murder sent Americans into the streets in protest, en masse. Soon, at the hands of a small percentage of extremists agitators, things turned ugly and the nation looked toward the White House for leadership.
Several prominent Republicans believe that the sort of leadership that the nation needed was not coming from the White House.
Senate Majority Whip John Thune told CNN he believed President Trump should have a different “tone” when addressing the country during this unrest following the death of George Floyd in Minnesota.
“I think the country is definitely looking for healing and for calm,” he said. “And I think that’s the tone the President needs to project when talking about what’s happening around the country. I think leaders right need to have empathy and humility and respect.”
“I think he needs to strike a tone that fits the level of frustration country’s experiencing right now, and I hope in the future, he’ll do that,” Thune said, adding that some of Trump’s tweets are “not helpful.”
And Thune wasn’t the only one:
Sen. John Cornyn, a member of Senate GOP leadership, said he believed Trump should address the nation “sooner rather than later.”
He said he believed “it’s important” for Trump to offer more of a unifying message in the midst of the deep unrest across the county.
President Trump’s remarks in the Rose Garden on Monday certainly didn’t deescalate the situation, as the Commander in Chief threatened to use the Insurrection Act of 1807 to activate the American military to keep the peace.
