What did Donald Trump do today?
He snubbed black police at a roundtable on racial violence in policing.
Trump flew to Texas for a political fundraiser today. En route to the $10 million dinner at a private residence, he held what was billed as a roundtable on police-community relations in African-American communities.
Notably absent from this discussion of race and policing were the police chief of Dallas, the Dallas County sheriff, and the Dallas County district attorney. None of them were invited to attend.
Trump did not mention George Floyd's name at any point, although he did stress how important it was to him that people not be unfairly labeled as racist.
Why does this matter?
- Presidents who don't want to seem racist or clueless about law enforcement should probably not actively avoid black law enforcement officials.