YOU FOR STANDING BY AND WAITING
FOR THE PRESIDENT’S REMARKS AS
WELL.
WE REALLY APPRECIATE IT, AS
ALWAYS.
>> MY PLEASURE.
>> BACK WITH US NOW, OUR KRISTEN
WELKER, MAYA WILEY, DONNA
EDWARDS, AND PHIL RUCKER.
KRISTEN, FIRST OF ALL, FROM THE
PRESIDENT, WE HEARD SOME MIXED
MESSAGING BECAUSE HE WANTS TO
EMPHASIZE HIS LAW AND ORDER
CREDENTIALS, HIS SUPPORT FOR
POLICE, AT THE SAME TIME
ATTACKING THE OBAMA
ADMINISTRATION WHICH ACTUALLY
DID DO POLICE REFORMS THAT WERE
DISMANTLED BY THE INCOMING TRUMP
WHITE HOUSE.
>> THAT’S RIGHT, ANDREA, THERE
WAS A FAIR AMOUNT OF MIXED
MESSAGING.
YOU HAD PRESIDENT TRUMP UNVEIL
HIS EXECUTIVE ORDER WHICH HE
SAYS, TO YOUR POINT, AFTER
REVIEW BY THE JUSTICE
DEPARTMENT, PRESUMABLY OUTLAW
CHOKEHOLDS UNLESS THE OFFICERS’
LIFE IS AT RISK.
THAT’S A BIG LOOPHOLE BECAUSE OF
COURSE IF AN OFFICER ARGUES THAT
HIS OR HER LIFE IS AT RISK THEN
THE QUESTION BECOMES WHAT IS THE
COUNTERPOINT TO THAT.
BUT CLEARLY TRYING TO UNVEIL HIS
PLAN TO ADDRESS SOME OF THESE
CONCERNS BY PROTESTERS WHILE
ALSO PAINTING HIMSELF AS THE LAW
AND ORDER PRESIDENT YET AGAIN,
ANDREA, UNDERSCORING THE EXTENT
TO WHICH HE SEES POLICE
DEPARTMENTS AS IMPORTANT, AND
THAT HE DOES NOT WANT TO DEFUND
POLICE DEPARTMENTS OR REDIRECT
ANY OF THE FUNDING THAT’S GOING
TOWARD LAW ENFORCEMENT IN ANY
WAY, SHAPE, OR FORM, AND MAKING
THE POINT THAT IT’S NOT MUTUALLY
EXCLUSIVE TO INVEST IN
COMMUNITIES, TO INVEST IN BETTER
POLICING AND TO ALSO HELP TO
IMPROVE THINGS LIKE TRAINING AND
THE RESOURCES THAT THE POLICE
HAVE AT THEIR HANDS.
BUT THEN THE COUNTERPOINT TO ALL
OF THAT MESSAGING, ANDREA, YOU
HAD PRESIDENT TRUMP START TO
TALK ABOUT THE WAYS IN WHICH HE
BELIEVES HE HAS HELPED THE
AFRICAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITY.
HE REFERENCED HIS FIRST STEP
BACK, THAT BIPARTISAN PIECE OF
LEGISLATION THAT OF COURSE DID
BEGIN THE PROCESS OF CRIMINAL
JUSTICE REFORM, BUT THEN ALSO
STARTED TALKING ABOUT THE
ECONOMY, HIS RESPONSE TO THE
COVID CRISIS.
THIS IS CLEARLY A PRESIDENT WHO
IS AWARE OF THE FACT THAT ALL OF
THIS IS GOING TO TIE INTO AND
IMPACT HIS REELECTION CHANCES.
WE KNOW HE’S BEEN QUITE EAGER TO
TURN THE PAGE ON THE ECONOMY
CRISIS.
AND ALSO ON THE COVID CRISIS.
HE’S POISED TO HOLD THAT RALLY
IN TULSA, OKLAHOMA ON SATURDAY,
DESPITE CONCERNS BY HEALTH
OFFICIALS THERE THAT HOLDING A
LARGE INDOOR RALLY COULD CREATE
SOME TYPE OF SPREAD OF THE COVID
VIRUS THERE IN TULSA OR INCREASE
THE SPREAD THERE, I SHOULD SAY.
SO ALL OF THESE COMPETING
FACTORS AT PLAY, AND SORT OF
OVERSHADOWING HIS OWN MESSAGING
BY STARTING TO TALK ABOUT THINGS
LIKE THE STOCK MARKET, ANDREA.
SO WE’LL HAVE TO SEE HOW THE
PROTESTERS, HOW CIVIL RIGHTS
GROUPS HERE, WHAT THEY HEARD
FROM PRESIDENT TRUMP, BUT SOME
OF WHAT HE SAID WILL UNDOUBTEDLY
BE VERY WELCOME FROM THOSE ON
CAPITOL HILL INCLUDING IN HIS
OWN PARTY WHO ARE TRYING TO MOVE
TOWARDS SOME PIECE OF BIPARTISAN
LEGISLATION.
>> AND WHILE YOU’VE BEEN
TALKING, KRISTEN, WE’VE BEEN
LOOKING AT A SPLIT SCREEN OF THE
ROSE GARDEN WITH JARED KUSHNER,
JIM JORDAN AND OTHER OFFICIALS.
THERE ISN’T A WHOLE LOT OF
SOCIAL DISTANCING OR MASKING
GOING ON AMONG THE OFFICIALS
STILL IN THAT ROSE GARDEN.
MAYA WILEY, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT
POLICE REFORM, ONE OF THE MAJOR
THINGS THAT HAPPENED AFTER
FERGUSON WITH PRESIDENT OBAMA
AND ERIC HOLDER, WAS TO START
CHANGING ALL OF THE BILLIONS OF
DOLLARS THAT WENT TO LOCAL
POLICE FORCES WITH MILITARY
STYLE WEAPONRY AND ARMED
PERSONNEL CARRIERS.
AND THAT IS NOW BEING REVERSED
BY THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION.
>> THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION HAS
REVERSED ALL OF THE MAJOR
EFFORTS THAT THE OBAMA
ADMINISTRATION SET IN PLACE TO
KEEP MORE BLACK PEOPLE, MORE
LATINOS, MORE CITIZENS, SAFE
FROM ABUSEIVE POLICING.
IF YOU CONSIDER THAT SPEECH HE
JUST GAVE, NOT ONLY WAS IT FULL
OF MISINFORMATION, HE LITERALLY,
OVER THE LIVES AND THE BODIES OF
BLACK PEOPLE THAT HE OPENED HIS
ANNOUNCEMENT WITH, ACTUALLY
STARTED TALKING ABOUT THE STOCK
MARKET AND THE INCREDIBLE, YOU
KNOW, GAINS THAT WE’RE GOING TO
HAVE FROM BIG PHARMA.
I’M SORRY, THOSE ARE TWO THINGS THAT BLACK COMMUNITIES HAVE
THAT BLACK COMMUNITIES HAVE
LARGELY BEEN EXCLUDED FROM THE
BENEFITS OF.
THIS ADMINISTRATION HAS MADE
CLEAR THEY ARE ON THE SIDE OF
LAWLESS POLICING IN A LAW AND
ORDER FRAMEWORK.
AND HE JUST DID THAT AGAIN.
ANDREA, WE HAVE TO STOP AND TAKE
ONE -- REALLY ONE SLOWDOWN FOR A
MINUTE ON THE OPTICS OF THAT
PRESS CONFERENCE.
ALL I SAW WERE WHITE FACES WHEN
WE’RE TALKING ABOUT BLACK
BODIES.
>> INDEED, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF
COURSE OF THE SENATOR FROM SOUTH
CAROLINA, TIM SCOTT, WHO HAS
BEEN A LEADER ON TRYING TO GET
SOMETHING OUT OF THE REPUBLICAN
SENATE.
DONNA EDWARDS, FINALLY, WHAT YOU
HEARD THERE WAS A CAMPAIGN
SPEECH, WHERE THE PRESIDENT WAS
ON THIS TIGHTROPE TRYING TO
BALANCE HIS LAW AND ORDER
MESSAGE SUPPORTING THE POLICE
AND TALKING ABOUT A FEW BAD
ACTORS BUT NOT ACKNOWLEDGING THE
ROLE OF MANY POLICE UNIONS TO
OPPOSE REFORM.
>> LOOK, I THINK THE PRESIDENT’S
SPEECH TODAY, I MEAN, HIS
ATTEMPT WAS TO TRY TO MOVE THIS
OUT OF THE HEADLINES.
AND IF HE THOUGHT THAT ANYTHING
THAT HE SAID TODAY WOULD DO
ANYTHING TO STOP THE PROTESTERS
AND STOP THE DEMAND FOR ACROSS T
FROM KILLING UNARMED BLACK
PEOPLE, THIS DID NOT DO IT.
AND, YOU KNOW, TO GO FROM
TALKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW,
REFERENCING THE FAMILIES OF
THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN MURDERED TO
STOCK MARKET GAINS AND RETAIL
SALESAPPALLING.
EVEN LISTENING TO THIS AS A
CAMPAIGN SPEECH THERE WAS NO
CONNECTION FROM THE BEGIN TO THE
END.
AND THIS WILL NOT STOP THE CALLS
TO DEMAND THAT CONGRESS AND
ACROSS THE COUNTRY WE REALLY DO