Biden: George Floyd’s Death Bigger Than Martin Luther King Assassination
Former vice president faces backlash for comparison
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Former Vice President Joe Biden claimed during a round table in Philadelphia that George Floyd's death was more significant than the assassination of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.
“Even Dr. King’s assassination did not have the worldwide impact that George Floyd’s death did,” Biden said.
“Because just like television changed the civil rights movement for the better when they saw Bull Connor’s dogs ripping the clothes off of elderly black women who were trying to go to church, and fire hoses ripping the skin off of young kids,” he said.
“That — all those folks around the country who didn’t have any black populations heard about this, but they didn’t believe it," Biden added.
"But they saw it, it was impossible for them to close their eyes,” Biden continued.
“Well, what happened to George Floyd, now you’ve got how many people around the country?"
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"Millions of cell phones, it’s changed the way everybody’s looking at this,” Biden said.
“Look at the millions of people marching around the world.”
WATCH:
Joe Biden: “Even Dr. King’s assassination did not have the worldwide impact the George Floyd’s death did.” 👀 pic.twitter.com/b9LzB9bbNq
— ForAmerica 🇺🇸 (@ForAmerica) June 11, 2020
Biden also said on Thursday that the American public is on board with police reform.
“I’m convinced that with rational proposals that cost a lot of money, the American public is ready to step up,” he said.
“They understand the need to make these systemic changes, dealing from racism to structures that our economy has just stacked the deck against anybody that doesn’t have any money.”
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Floyd died while being detained by now-former police officer Derek Chauvin, who knelt on Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes.
His death sparked widespread protests and riots across the US, similar to that of the 1960s.
The protests have led to call from far leftists and Democratic officials to defund and dismantle the police force.
Meanwhile, cities like Los Angeles saw a spike in homicides and shootings amid Black Lives Matter protests and calls from leftist officials to defund the police.
The Los Angeles Police Department reported a 250% rise in homicides and a 56 percent increase in shootings.
The worrying surge seems to reflect reports elsewhere in the country as riots and looting exploded alongside “peaceful protests” following the death of George Floyd.
