Donald Trump sparks fury after claiming ‘more white people’ die from police brutality than black people in US

Donald Trump has sparked a backlash over his response to a question he deemed “terrible” about black deaths in the United States.

President Donald Trump sparked a backlash after claiming ‘more white people’ are dying than black people at the hands of police in the United States. Picture: Jim Watson/AFP

President Donald Trump sparked a backlash after saying “more white people” are dying than black people at the hands of police in the United States.

Mr Trump said the killing of George Floyd was “terrible” but appeared to bristle when asked why black Americans are ”still dying at the hands of law enforcement in this country”.

“So are white people. So are white people. What a terrible question to ask. So are white people,” Mr Trump told CBS News. ”More white people, by the way. More white people.”

Research has found black men are roughly 3.5 times more likely to die at the hands of law enforcement than white men.

A 2019 study found that one in 1000 black men in the US can expect to be killed by police over the course of their lifetime.

A Harvard study published in June this year found that the number of white people killed by police between 2013 and 2017 was higher than that of black people, but white people constitute a larger portion of the population.

It also found that black Americans are three times more likely to be killed by police officers than white Americans.

The interview sparked a backlash online:

It is true that police in the US also kill a lot of white people which is...not really necessarily a super awesome debating point in the police’s favor?

— Chris Hayes (@chrislhayes) July 14, 2020

So Trump doesn’t mind the Confederate flag at his rallies. He is truly running a racist campaign. If you are voting for @realDonaldTrump in November, you are knowingly and willingly voting for a racist. #FireTrumpInNovember https://t.co/TEtDNAcoNk

— rolandsmartin (@rolandsmartin) July 14, 2020

Supporting Trump doesn’t mean you are a racist, but it does mean you are supporting a racist. https://t.co/QoXqZZYYGV

— Brian Schatz (@brianschatz) July 14, 2020

It comes after Mr Trump posted a tweet last week slamming NASCAR’s recent decision to ban the Confederate flag from all future races and events.

Has @BubbaWallace apologized to all of those great NASCAR drivers & officials who came to his aid, stood by his side, & were willing to sacrifice everything for him, only to find out that the whole thing was just another HOAX? That & Flag decision has caused lowest ratings EVER!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 6, 2020

The White House subsequently refused to denounce the tweet at a press briefing.

White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said the President was not “making a judgment call” about the flag.

“He has not given an opinion one way or the other on that,” she said. ”I just spoke to him this morning.”

She went on: “The President‘s intent was to say no, most American people are good, hardworking people, and we should not have this rush to judgment knee-jerk reaction before the facts come out.”

Research has found black men are roughly 3.5 times more likely to die at the hands of law enforcement than white men. Picture: Angela Weiss/AFP

In the CBS interview, Mr Trump also defended flying the Confederate flag as “freedom of speech”, but wouldn’t say if he was comfortable having the flag – which many see as a racist symbol – flown at his rallies.

“You know, it depends on what your definition is. But I am comfortable with freedom of speech. It‘s very simple,” he said.

Asked if he understood that the flag is a “reminder of slavery”, he said: “Well, people love it and I don‘t view – I know people that like the Confederate flag and they’re not thinking about slavery. I look at NASCAR – you go to NASCAR, you had those flags all over the place. They stopped it.”

The President was referring to the decision by NASCAR to ban the Confederate flag from its events.

“I just think it‘s freedom of speech, whether it’s freedom of speech, whether it’s Confederate flags or Black Lives Matter or anything else you want to talk about,” he added.