“Nobody came close to breaching the fence. If they had they would have been greeted with the most vicious dogs, and the most ominous weapons, I have ever seen…[Democratic Mayor Muriel Bowser], who is always looking for money & help, wouldn’t let the D.C. police get involved. ‘Not their job.’ Nice!”
--President Donald J. Trump, May 30
“There are no vicious dogs & ominous weapons. There is just a scared man. Afraid/alone.”
--Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, May 30
“We need a voice against racism, we need many voices against racism and against brutality. And we need to stand up and say that black lives matter.”
--Utah Senator Mitt Romney, June 7
“I should not have been there. My presence in that moment and in that environment created a perception of the military involved in domestic politics.”
--General Mark A. Milley,
the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, June 11
“Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people—does not even pretend to try. Instead, he tries to divide us. We are witnessing the consequences of three years of this deliberate effort. We are witnessing the consequences of three years without mature leadership. We can unite without him, drawing on the strengths inherent in our civil society. This will not be easy, as the past few days have shown, but we owe it to our fellow citizens; to past generations that bled to defend our promise; and to our children.”
--James Mattis, Former Defense Secretary, June 3
“I thought General Mattis’s words were true and honest and necessary and overdue,” [Will she support Trump for reelection?] “I am struggling with it. I have struggled with it for a long time.”
--Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski, June 4
“Few people know where they’ll be in two years from now, but I do, in the Great State of Alaska (which I love) campaigning against Senator Lisa Murkowski. She voted against HealthCare, Justice Kavanaugh, and much else... ...Unrelated, I gave Alaska ANWR, major highways, and more. Get any candidate ready, good or bad, I don’t care, I’m endorsing. If you have a pulse, I’m with you!"
--President Donald J. Trump, June 4
“We are not fighting some disconnected incidents. We are fighting an institutional, systemic problem that has been allowed to permeate since we were brought to these shores and we are fighting wickedness in high places. When you can put your knee on a man’s neck and hold it there 8 minutes and 46 seconds, that’s not even normal to a civilian, less known to a police officer. Try it when you go home to put your knee down on something and hold it there that long. You got to be full of a lot of venom. Full of something that really motivates you to press down your weight that long and not give up, and to think that you’re certified by the state to carry a badge and a gun and you got all of that in you means that we have permitted people to become officers of the law that ought to be somewhere else in society.”
--Rev. Al Sharpton, eulogy at George Floyd's funeral, June 9
“Little Gianna, as I said to you when I saw you yesterday, you’re so brave. Daddy’s looking down. He’s so proud of you. I know you miss that bear hug that only he could give, the pure joy riding on his shoulders so you could touch the sky, the countless hours he spent playing any game you wanted because your smile, your laugh, your love is the only thing that mattered at the moment. I know you have a lot of questions, honey, no child should have to ask questions that too many black children have had to ask for generations. Why? Why is daddy gone?”
--Former Vice President Joe Biden, June 9
"They lynched my brother. That was a modern-day lynching in broad daylight." His voice rising, he said, "I'm tired. I'm tired of pain, the pain you feel when you watch something like that. When you watch your big brother who you looked up to for your whole entire life die, die begging for his mom. I'm here to ask you to make it stop. Stop the pain. Stop us from being tired."
--Philonise Floyd, brother of George Floyd. appearing in front of a House Judiciary Committee oversight hearing on policing and law enforcement accountability, June 10
"The presence of the Confederate flag at NASCAR events runs contrary to our commitment to providing a welcoming and inclusive environment for all fans, our competitors and our industry. Bringing people together around a love for racing and the community that it creates is what makes our fans and sport special. The display of the Confederate flag will be prohibited from all NASCAR events and properties."
--NASCAR statement, June 10
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