Joe Biden Says George Floyd’s Death Is Eliciting Greater Global Impact Than Martin Luther King’s Assassination
Former Vice President Joe Biden said on Thursday that George Floyd’s death is eliciting a greater global impact than Dr. Martin Luther King’s assassination, The Hill reported. The Democratic Party’s presumptive presidential nominee spoke during a roundtable discussion in Philadelphia, pointing out that technology has made it easier for activists to spread information around the world.
“Even Dr. King’s assassination did not have the worldwide impact that George Floyd’s death did. What happened to George Floyd — now you got how many people around the country, millions of cellphones. It’s changed the way everybody’s looking at this. Look at the millions of people marching around the world.”
Floyd died in the custody of the Minneapolis Police Department on May 25, after a white officer named Derek Chauvin pinned him to the ground and knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes. Bystanders recorded the incident using their smartphones, and video clips soon went viral on social media, inciting some Americans to take to the streets.
The protests have spread across the globe, with thousands of Europeans, Africans, and Australians expressing support for American demonstrators — and often protesting against police brutality in their own countries.
Since the beginning of the protests, activists have called on local and state governments to defund police departments. Progressive lawmakers have echoed these calls, arguing that some of the money being used to finance police departments would be better spent on social programs.
Biden has repeatedly pushed back against the suggestion of defunding. Nevertheless, the former vice president is in favor of introducing sweeping reforms.
“I’m convinced that with rational proposals that cost a lot of money the American public is ready to step up. 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.”
President Donald Trump and his allies have also expressed opposition to defunding police departments. However, Trump has signaled interest in introducing reform measures.
On Thursday, the commander-in-chief revealed that he is working on an executive order that will encourage police to use “force with compassion.” Trump stressed that his administration does not plan on slashing police budgets.
“If anything, we’re going the other route.”
According to recent polling, Biden is the current favorite to win the White House in November. A CNN survey released earlier this week showed the former vice president 14 percentage points ahead of Trump nationwide.
