May 29, 2020 - Politics & Policy

Trump says he spoke with George Floyd's family

Orion Rummler

Image of Trump — President Trump in the Rose Garden on May 29. Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images

President Trump told reporters on Friday that he had spoken with the family of George Floyd, a black resident of Minneapolis who died after a police officer knelt on his neck on Monday.

Driving the news: Former Vice President Joe Biden said via livestream a few hours earlier that he, too, had spoken with Floyd's family. The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee implored white Americans to consider systemic injustices against African Americans more broadly, Axios' Alexi McCammond reports.

Attorney General Bill Barr said on Friday that the Justice Department and FBI are investigating if officers involved in Floyd's death violated federal civil rights laws.

What he's saying: "Our nation's deepest condolences and heartfelt sympathies to the family of George Floyd," Trump said. "It's a terrible thing. We all saw what we saw ... and it's very hard to conceive of anything other than what we did see," he added, per pool reports.

"We also have to make the statement that it's very important that we have peaceful protesters," Trump said, adding that the situation should not "descend further into lawless anarchy and chaos."

Flashback: Trump threatened via Twitter early Friday that he would send the National Guard to Minneapolis, saying “when the looting starts, the shooting starts."

Go deeper: Police officer in George Floyd killing charged with third-degree murder

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Trump says he spoke with George Floyd's family

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