Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden is urging protesters who are calling for an end to racial injustice to demonstrate peacefully.
“Protesting though is not burning and looting. Violence can never be a tactic or tolerated, and it won’t, but much of it is a cry for justice from a community that has long had the knees of injustice on their necks,” Biden said while delivering remarks in Georgia.
He added, “The names of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Jacob Blake, will not soon be forgotten, not by me, not by us, not by this country. Folks, they’re going to inspire a new wave of justice in America.”
Check out his remarks below:
Joe Biden: "Protesting though is not burning and looting. Violence can never be a tactic or tolerated, and it won't, but much of it is a cry for justice from a community that has long had the knees of injustice on their necks." pic.twitter.com/lt1NR1fI0a
— The Hill (@thehill) October 27, 2020
Biden denounced violent protests in May, as IJR previously reported.
He spoke out after protests erupted across the nation following the death of George Floyd.
“Protesting such brutality is right and necessary. It’s an utterly American response,” Biden said in a statement.
He continued, “But burning down communities and needless destruction is not. Violence that endangers lives is not. Violence that guts and shutters businesses that serve the community is not. The act of protesting should never be allowed to overshadow the reason we protest. It should not drive people away from the just cause that protest is meant to advance.”
Biden doubled down on his position during an appearance on “60 Minutes,” as IJR previously reported.
He argued against violent protests and pushed back on the president’s claim he wants to defund the police.
“I’ve never, ever supported defunding police. Matter of fact, we’d get more funding for police for different reasons,” Biden said.
He argued, “Any use of violence, burning down stores, smashing windows, that is a crime, people should be arrested. No justification for it. There’s never been a conflict with me between law and order and dignity. They’re one in the same.”