President Donald Trump is looking to address calls to reform policing with his recently signed executive order.
And Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms (D) says she was “encouraged by the national database” in Trump’s order that tracks police officers’ misconduct.
However, she noted that in Trump’s remarks on Tuesday, before he signed the order, he did not mention race or bias.
“I was encouraged by the national database,” she said, adding, “But then, Donald Trump got in the way of Donald Trump as he always does.”
“So, when you don’t mention race, and you don’t mention bias, and then you go on a rant about school choice, it’s hard to take him seriously in this moment,” she added.
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Atlanta Mayor @KeishaBottoms tells us while she is “encouraged by the national database” in Pres. Trump’s executive order on policing, “it’s hard to take him seriously in this moment” after he didn’t mention racial bias in his remarks. https://t.co/QxkTf497cx pic.twitter.com/fwq5nph0gj
— The View (@TheView) June 17, 2020
On Tuesday, Trump signed an executive order that incentivizes police departments to implement stricter use of force policies and share information with other departments about officer misconduct.
During his remarks, he offered his sympathies to families who lost family members to police violence.
But he pivoted to a message about law and order and spoke about school choice as “the civil rights statement of the year, of the decade and probably beyond.”
However, he did not directly reference racism in his remarks.
While Bottoms criticized Trump’s remarks, Democratic Congressional leaders panned his order as “weak,’ as IJR reported.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said it “falls sadly and seriously short of what is required to combat the epidemic of racial injustice and police brutality that is murdering hundreds of Black Americans.”
And Senate Minority Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said, “While the president has finally acknowledged the need for policing reform, one modest executive order will not make up for his years of inflammatory rhetoric and policies designed to roll back the progress made in previous years.”
He added, “Unfortunately, this executive order will not deliver the comprehensive, meaningful change and accountability in our nation’s police departments that Americans are demanding.”
For his part, Trump called the order a “big, big step” but also said he is committed to working with Congress on legislation that “goes even beyond what we’re signing today.”