Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden in a statement on Friday said he is furious over US President Donald Trump's comment overnight suggesting National Guardsmen will shoot rioters protesting the death of George Floyd in the state of Minnesota
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 29th May, 2020) Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden in a statement on Friday said he is furious over US President Donald Trump's comment overnight suggesting National Guardsmen will shoot rioters protesting the death of George Floyd in the state of Minnesota.
"I will not lift the President's tweet," Biden said via Twitter. "I will not give him that amplification. But he is calling for violence against American citizens during a moment of pain for so many. I'm furious, and you should be too."
Biden said he will talk further about the events in Minnesota later on Friday.
Late Thursday night, Trump warned that protesters destroying and stealing from businesses in the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul may be shot by members of the National Guard.
"Just spoke to Governor Tim Walz and told him that the Military is with him all the way. Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts," Trump wrote in a tweet that was later flagged and hidden by Twitter for breaking the social platform's rules on glorifying violence.
The public unrest erupted Tuesday after the death of Floyd, an African-American man who lost his life on Monday after being arrested by law enforcement officers in the city of Minneapolis.
A video that spread online shows a white police officer, alleged to be Derek Chauvin, pinning Floyd to the ground with his knee on his neck for several minutes. Floyd repeatedly tells the police officer that he cannot breathe until becoming unresponsive. Floyd died at a local hospital shortly thereafter.
