White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki dodged directly answering a question on Monday about whether President Joe Biden agreed with controversial remarks made by Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) over the weekend, where Waters said that activists needed to get “confrontational” if Derek Chauvin was not convicted of murdering George Floyd.
When Waters was asked during a protest on Saturday what activists should do if Chauvin is not convicted, Waters said that they must “stay on the street.”
“And we’ve got to get more active. [We’ve] got to get more confrontational,” she said. “[We’ve] got to make sure that they know we mean business.”
CNN reporter Kaitlan Collins asked Psaki about Waters’ comment over the weekend and whether Biden agreed that people need to get “more confrontational.”
“Well I can speak to the president’s view, he has been very clear that he recognizes the issue of police violence against people of color, communities of color, is one of great anguish and it’s exhausting and quite emotional at times,” Psaki said. “As you know, he met with the Floyd family last year and has been closely following the trials we’ve been talking about, and is committed to undoing this long standing systemic problem.”
“His view is also that exercising First Amendment rights and protesting injustice is the most American thing that anyone can do,” Psaki added. “But as he also always says, protests must be peaceful. That’s what he continues to call for and what he continues to believe is the right way to approach responding.”
WATCH:
Biden’s Press Secretary Jen Psaki refuses to condemn Democrat Congresswoman Maxine Waters’ call “to get more confrontational”https://t.co/iJVLjpsjwD pic.twitter.com/KTQ0pnHyyM
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TRANSCRIPT:
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN REPORTER: You talk to all the White House’s preparing for whatever that verdict is. Congresswoman Maxine Waters said over the weekend that they need to, ‘we’ve got to stay on the street, and we’ve got to get more active. We’ve got to get more confrontational, we’ve got to make sure that they know that we mean business.’ Does the President agree with what she said about getting more confrontational?
JEN PSAKI, PRESS SECRETARY: Well I can speak to the president’s view, he has been very clear that he recognizes the issue of police violence against people of color, communities of color, is one of great anguish and it’s exhausting and quite emotional at times. As you know, he met with the Floyd family last year and has been closely following the trials we’ve been talking about, and is committed to undoing this long standing systemic problem. His view is also that exercising First Amendment rights and protesting injustice is the most American thing that anyone can do. But as he also always says, protests must be peaceful. That’s what he continues to call for and what he continues to believe is the right way to approach responding.
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