Biden accuses Trump of wanting to tear gas 'peaceful' BLM rioters
President Joe Biden, while speaking to a predominantly black audience at Girard College in Philadelphia on Wednesday, claimed former President Donald Trump wanted to use tear gas against those who "peacefully protested" the murder of George Floyd in 2020. The event, aimed at drumming up support from black voters, saw Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris expressing gratitude for the community's role in securing their victory in the November 2020 presidential election.
During his speech, Biden boasted about his administration's efforts to improve the lives of black Americans, including the elimination of lead pipes for safer drinking water, the removal of pollution near fenceline communities, the provision of affordable high-speed internet, and the protection of the Affordable Care Act. "A promise made, and a promise kept," the president declared, Fox News reported.
Biden also took aim at his chief political opponent, Donald Trump, accusing him of calling the Jan. 6 Capitol rioters "patriots" and expressing a desire to pardon them.
The president posed a provocative question to the crowd, asking, "Let me ask you: What do you think [Trump] would have done on Jan. 6, if black Americans had stormed [the Capitol]? I don't think he'd be talking about pardons. This is the same guy who wanted to tear gas you as you peacefully protested George Floyd's murder."
In May 2020, protests and demonstrations in Philadelphia following the death of George Floyd and against alleged police brutality began as peaceful assemblies but later turned violent. The unrest involved the defacement of a statue of former Philadelphia Mayor Frank Rizzo, demonstrators climbing on glass fixtures near the SEPTA subway entrance, and the looting and vandalism of several storefronts along the Chestnut and Walnut street corridors.
The violence escalated, with reports of Philadelphia Police Department vehicles and a Pennsylvania State Police cruiser being set ablaze, and a Starbucks on Dilworth Plaza engulfed in flames. Police officers, equipped in riot gear, confronted a crowd near the Municipal Services Building at 16th and Arch streets, pressing them back as projectiles were thrown and protesters attempted to push through the police line using a fence.
I’m shaking with horror. Just walked down the streets of my beloved #Philadelphia. Fire and broken glass everywhere
— Lindy Li (@lindyli) May 30, 2020
Police car on fire#phillyprotests #GeorgeFloydProtests pic.twitter.com/otcEsAIS5D
The initial night of protests resulted in injuries to over a dozen police officers and the implementation of a mandatory curfew.
The protests and riots that erupted across the nation in the spring and summer of 2020 following the death of George Floyd, 46, while in Minneapolis police custody, have once again risen to the forefront of political discussion as the race for 2024 heats up.

Ian Miles Cheong
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Ian Miles Cheong is a freelance writer, graphic designer, journalist and videographer. He’s kind of a big deal on Twitter.
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