Ivanka Trump to meet pro-Trump police group in Minneapolis where George Floyd was killed
Mike Pence and Ivanka Trump will meet with a pro-Trump police association in Minneapolis, where George Floyd died in the custody of police four months ago, sparking nationwide protests against racism and police violence.
As well as a community listening session with Cops for Trump on Thursday, the US vice president and daughter of Donald Trump will meet residents who the Trump campaign says have been "negatively impacted by crime and violent extremism".
The visit comes about a month after president Trump met with small-business owners whose stores in Minneapolis were damaged in violence that erupted after Floyd's death on 25 May.
Mr Trump did not visit protest locations nor the site where police held Floyd, an unarmed black, down until he could no longer breathe.
Mr Pence and Ms Trump’s schedule on Thursday does not include those places either.
The visit comes after judges weighing charges in the death of Breonna Taylor decided against indicting the white officers directly involved in the black woman’s death, leading to cries of injustice from anti-racism campaigners.
Anger over that decision led to two officers being shot on Wednesday night in Louisville, Kentucky, to which the president wrote on Twitter: “LAW & ORDER!” -
For some in Minneapolis, the Trump campaign's law-and-order message is calculated, divisive and damaging, as he attempts to wrestle the state from Democratic control in 2020.
"Hate and fear are good for getting votes, but it's not good for governing," said Paul Eaves, a Minneapolis resident, to the Associated Press.
The white 72-year-old, who regularly tends to artwork and flowers at the intersection that has become a memorial to Floyd, added that the president was a "vile politician".
Following Floyd’s death and demonstrations over it, City Council members pledged to abolish the Minneapolis Police Department and replace it with a new socially-minded agency
That vote, which was blocked by a city commission, will not happen until at least 2021, if ever.
Additional reporting by Associated Press.
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