Trump’s call to officers to rough up suspects during a speech in Long Island, adds to the huge list of controversial statements uttered since he became president. Even press statements from the White House, which suggested that the whole incident was a joke, did nothing to quell the anger of thousands of social media users. Trevor Noah is one of those people who criticised the president on his comments. The stand-up comedian found it alarming that someone as powerful as the president found it amusing to joke on a hot topic that had a bad history in America.
Controversial Statement
President Trump is on record as having asked the officers of Long Island not to be kind to suspects. He insisted that they should rough them up. Even the courtesy of holding down their heads while shoving them into the back of their patrol cars was unnecessary. These statements portrayed his endorsement of police brutality and ill treatment of suspects. People also gave the president a backlashing on Facebook and Twitter.
Trevor Noah also gave the president’s remarks substantial air time on his show. Not only did he criticise the decision by the Commander-in-Chief to comment on such an issue on video, but he condemned the manner in which the White House Press moved in to clarify that the president’s statements were meant as a joke. During this age and time when police cooperation with the community is needed, such a statement was enough to turn back the efforts that had been made so far.
Furthermore, Trevor Noah also noted the rhetoric used by the White House Press each time the president uttered comments that were unpalatable. He put down a line between being funny and joking and that Trump was neither of the two.
Not New To Controversy
Donald Trump will perhaps go down in history as the most controversial president that America has ever had. His controversies did not start the other day. He has been embroiled in controversy since the 90s and 2000s. During his campaign trail, he made comments that were received with mixed emotions by different divides in the country. His most controversial statement involved his dalliance with the Russians, where he requested them on national television to hack his opponent’s emails (Hillary Clinton).
What It Means To The Police Force
Even if Trump’s comments were meant as a joke, the damage done by them was quite irreversible. This is because of the fact that America is already grappling with hundreds of cases of excessive use of force by police, most of which are directed at black people. Even though excessive use of force by the police goes against their regulations, there are officers who have refused to abide by them.
As a result, the president’s remarks have the potential of being interpreted in the wrong way by such police officers.
Check out the astonishing statistics released by London’s police.