Omar: Trump has failed to understand the ‘pain and anguish many of his citizens are feeling’

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) said on Sunday that President Trump has failed to understand the “pain and anguish many of his citizens are feeling” in the demonstrations against George Floyd’s death. 

“This president has failed in really understanding the kind of pain and anguish many of his citizens are feeling,” she told ABC’s “This Week.” “When you have a president who really is glorifying violence, was talking about the kind of vicious dogs and weapons that could be unleashed on citizens, it is quite appalling and disturbing.”

“We condemn other nations when their presidents make those kind of statements when there is unrest in their countries, and we have to condemn our president at the highest sort of condemnation,” she added.

Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar says in the absence of leadership by President Trump, Americans are stepping up to protect each other amid unrest: “This president has failed in really understanding the kind of pain and anguish many of his citizens are feeling.” https://t.co/sVerbxGgdM pic.twitter.com/Nrbubn9pkG

— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) May 31, 2020

The Minnesota representative cited Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s comments that the president has not displayed leadership, adding that people now “look to one another for that leadership.”

“They are going to push for the kind of systematic change that we need,” Omar said. “They are going to ask for people to work together to rebuild our communities. They are going to be vigilant and make sure that they are protecting one another.”

{mosads}Sometimes-violent protests have broken out in cities across the country after Floyd’s death in police custody. Bystander footage shows former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin kneeling on Floyd’s neck as Floyd says he cannot breathe and becomes unresponsive.

Chauvin has since been fired, along with three other officers assisting in Floyd’s arrest. He also has been charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. 

Trump has responded to the protests in several controversial tweets, blaming the “Radical Left” and “thugs” for inciting violence in the demonstrations across the country. The president also tweeted that “looting leads to shooting,” sparking backlash from Democrats, but he pushed back on claims that he was inciting violence.

The president also  praised the Secret Service for its handling of the protests outside the White House, saying they had “the most vicious dogs, and most ominous weapons I have ever seen” available.

He called Floyd’s death a “grave tragedy” in a Florida speech on Saturday while condemning the violence involved in the protests.