When same-sex marriage was legalized through a Supreme Court decision, the White House was lit-up with rainbow lights.
When the administration wanted to underscore breast cancer awareness, the White House was lit-up with pink lights.
So, of course, when five innocent police officers are assassinated by a racist Black Lives Matter sympathizer who wanted to “kill white people, especially white officers,” the White House will surely be illuminated with blue lights—especially after the head of the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association requested it be done. Right?
Wrong.
On Wednesday, Press Secretary Josh Earnest told Fox News reporter Kevin Corke that Mr. Obama already paid his respects to the officers by, for example, ordering flags to be lowered at half-staff and meeting with the officers’ families. Illuminating the White House in blue is “not something that we plan to do at this point,” he stated.
“The Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association announced on Friday that they may request to the White House that it be illuminated in blue in honor of the fallen officers in Dallas,” stated Corke. “Knowing that the White House has previously been illuminated, both in 2013 in pink for breast cancer awareness and again in 2015 in the wake of the same-sex marriage ruling by the Supreme Court, has there been any consideration or any thought given to lighting the White House in blue in honor of law enforcement?”
“I don’t have much to say about the potential consideration. I can tell you that’s not something that we plan to do at this point,” answered Earnest. “The President certainly has, in a variety of ways, acknowledged the tragedy and honored the life of the five Dallas police officers who were killed last week. The President, while he was overseas, ordered flags across the country lowered to half-staff as the nation mourns the loss of those police officers. And, of course, the President traveled to Dallas just yesterday to speak at the memorial service that was organized to honor their service and honor their sacrifice.”
Earnest continued: “And after that service concluded, the President spent more than an hour with the families of those who were lost and spent time visiting with some of those who were injured, including police officers who were injured in that shooting. So there are a variety of ways that the President and this administration have chosen to conspicuously demonstrate our deep gratitude and our solemn condolences in the aftermath of the shooting that claimed the lives of five police officers in Dallas last week,” he said.
“So you’re not opposed to it, it’s just not something that the President has made a move on yet?” said Corke, attempting to rationalize Earnest’s remarks.
“Kevin, I think it’s appropriate for people to conclude that the President has chosen to acknowledge this loss and to pay tribute to these heroes in a variety of other ways, including ordering the flags lowered to half-staff, traveling to Dallas to speak at the memorial service, and spending a substantial amount of time after the service visiting with the families of those who were lost,” answered the press secretary.
But this is wholly unsurprising. For goodness sake, Mr. Obama spent a large portion of his speech during the funeral memorial service for the assassinated officers by castigating the institution of law enforcement as endemically racist.
To view the whole exchange between Corke and Earnest, watch the video below beginning at the 44:45 mark: