Let's catch up with the ongoing conversation in Washington.
Because while the movement in the streets
has been building up steam,
Democrats in Washington have been scrambling
for a way to respond.
And yesterday, I think they figured it out.
REPORTER: Democratic lawmakers are receiving criticism
after a silent tribute to George Floyd
in the U.S. Congress yesterday.
Some were not a fan of the colorful kente cloth scarf
draped around their necks, saying they turned
the traditional African textile into a political prop.
Okay, I understand the symbolic gesture
of kneeling to remember George Floyd.
What I don't understand is why they
had to dress like extras from Coming to America 2.
In fact, a lot of people were confused about why the Democrats
wore African cloth to talk about George Floyd
and police brutality.
It felt like they were trying too hard.
But I'm gonna be honest-- I was just glad
that they managed to talk Nancy Pelosi down
from the original outfit she had planned.
It was a step too far.
And, look, however much you want to blame Nancy Pelosi
and the Democrats for doing this,
we also have to assign some of the blame
to the African store owner who knew full well
that no good can come from one person
buying 50 kente cloths.
(heavy African accent): No, Nancy, you have to trust me, eh?
The more kente cloth you wear, the less offensive it becomes.
Okay, bye-bye.
(normal accent): Now, to be fair, the Democrats
weren't just kneeling and wearing kente cloth.
They also unveiled police reform legislation
that would make some pretty big changes.
It would ban no-knock warrants in drug cases
to try and avoid situations like the one
that got Breonna Taylor killed
while she was sleeping in her own bed.
It would make chokeholds a civil rights violation
to try and prevent police
from taking another Eric Garner's life.
And one of the biggest measures in this legislation
would make it easier to prosecute police
who use excessive force.
As opposed to now, where it's almost impossible
to convict a police officer if they've done something wrong.
Like, now, you... you need to catch them on video,
then have a D.A. that's willing to prosecute them,
then have a jury that actually wants to hold cops accountable.
And even if you get all that, you still
need to find the cop's Horcrux and destroy it.
Otherwise, they just get to go back out on the force.
But while Democrats are proposing legislation
to reform the police,
unsurprisingly, most Republicans in Congress
don't seem to be on board.
And as for President Trump,
he's doubling down hard
on his support for the police.
REPORTER: President Trump held a meeting with
police union officials and local and state
law enforcement officials yesterday at the White House.
He vowed there will be no dismantling
of American policing.
There won't be defunding.
There won't be, uh, dismantling of our police
and, uh,
they're not gonna be any disbanding of our police.
Our police have been letting us, uh,
live in peace,
and we want to make sure we don't
have any bad actors in there,
and sometimes you'll see some horrible things
like we witnessed recently,
but, uh, 99... I say 99.9,
but let's go with 99% of them
are great, great people.
Yes.
99% of all police are great people.
And I guess it's just unlucky that protesters
happen to keep meeting with the bad one percent
over and over and over again.
I guess those guys work a lot of overtime.
And, you know, I always find it amazing
how Trump manages to always see the good
in the groups that he likes.
He says that the police are 99% great people.
Charlottesville-- he said there were people
that were good on both sides.
He said the armed protesters in Michigan--
same people who stormed the Statehouse--
were very good people who were just frustrated.
Like, clearly, if you're on Trump's good side,
he will find a way
to interpret anything you do in the best way possible.
Like, if Trump likes you,
he could walk in on you in bed with his wife,
and he'd probably be like,
"My wife and my best friend...
"taking a nap together.
Good people."
Now, look, let's be clear.
I'm not saying that all cops are bad.
But the problems with the police
are much more widespread than Trump is acknowledging.
Because every single time-- every single time
a police department gets audited or investigated,
the results that come back, time and time again,
show deep rot and systemic issues,
often from the top.
It's like turning on a black light in a hotel room.
There's no way you're only gonna find only one stain.
And unlike Mitt Romney,
who was marching in Washington over the weekend,
saying "black lives matter,"
Trump has never expressed support
for the Black Lives Matter movement.
And yesterday, his press secretary claimed
that Trump doesn't need to say "black lives matter"
because his support with black people is overwhelming.
Yeah, Mitt Romney,
uh, can say three words outside on Pennsylvania Avenue,
uh, but I would note this:
that President Trump won eight percent of the black vote.
Mitt Romney won two percent of the black vote.
Okay, firstly, that's bullshit.
Romney didn't get two percent of the black vote.
He got six percent while running
against the only black president ever.
But either way, this is just sad.
I can't even believe this is a thing.
You're going to brag about getting eight percent
of the black vote?
Really? Eight percent out of a hundred?
Bragging about getting eight percent of the black vote
is like some loser bragging to his friend, like,
"You know how Susie said she just sees you as a friend?
Well, she told me she sees me as an older brother."
So, Trump's position on the protesters,
around him defending the police, around Black Lives Matter,
it seems pretty clear.
But-but just in case you were willing
to give him the benefit of the doubt,
well, this morning the president of the United States
tweeted this.
NEWSMAN: President Trump is questioning the motives
of the 75-year-old activist shoved to the ground
by Buffalo police officers during a protest last Friday.
The president tweeted,
Martin Gugino "could be an antifa provocateur"
and said, "I watched,
"he fell harder than was pushed.
Could be a setup?"
Gugino remains in serious but stable condition
at the hospital.
This is one of the more alarming tweets
we have ever seen from President Trump.
It appears to be based on a news clip,
uh, from the One America News Network,
which is a network for conspiracy theory kooks.
NEWSWOMAN: Gugino is a longtime peace activist
and volunteer for Catholic Worker,
which is a movement dedicated to justice and peace.
Yeah.
Trump is so desperate to defend the police
that instead of admitting that maybe they used excessive force
and that none of them helped a person
who was bleeding out on the ground,
he turns around and blames the old man from that video
for being an antifa provocateur
who busted his head open on purpose?
And, I mean, I can't believe that I actually have to say it,
but, like, that is some batshit crazy theory.
Let me tell you something.
If someone came up to me with a plan
that involved me busting my head open on the sidewalk,
I would ask them to come up with a better plan.
I mean, how do you look at that video, see that old man,
and think that he's an antifa provocateur?
You think that old man is causing chaos.
Who sees that?
Like, I-I feel like Trump is the kind of person
who watched the movie Up,
and he thinks it's a story about an elderly terrorist
who hijacks a balloon house.
But I guess with this tweet
and everything else that Trump has said and done
over the past couple of weeks,
Trump has clearly picked which side he is on in this debate.
And, I mean, forget about eight percent of the black vote.
If this is Trump's attitude towards reforming the police,
well, there's no kente cloth in the world
big enough to make up for it.
Well, that's our show for tonight.
But before we go,
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Until tomorrow, stay safe out there.