Black Lives Matter movement dividing US, says Trump
Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has criticized the ongoing Black Lives Matter movement, saying the protesters are “dividing” the country.
Following the killings of two African Americans last week, thousands of people have flooded the streets in cities across the US to protest police brutality against black people.
On July 5, Alton Sterling,37, was fatally shot by police in the southeastern city of Baton Rouge while another African American, 32-year-old Philando Castile, was shot dead a day after by a police officer near St. Paul.
Trump called the shootings of the two “terrible” and “disgusting,” but said the anti-police brutality movement was “very divisive.”
“I would say they're dividing America,” Trump said Tuesday on “The O'Reilly Factor.”
“I saw what they said about the police in various marches and rallies, I've seen moments of silence called for this horrible human being who shot the policemen,” the billionaire businessman added.
“And I've seen it and I think it's certainly, it's very divisive and I think they're hurting themselves,” he claimed.
Trump said the first time he heard the term Black Lives Matter, “I said, ‘You have to be kidding.’”
The White House hopeful also said that there "could be" a problem causing police to treat blacks differently than whites, but asserted that law enforcement does an "incredible job in this country."
“I'm a big fan of the police in this country,” he said.
Trump’s remarks come as his campaign has been already marked by controversy over his disparaging comments about women, immigrants and Muslims.
The use of unnecessary force by police against African Americans in cities from Ferguson to Baltimore and New York has sparked nationwide protests in the past two years and has given birth to the Black Lives Matter movement.
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