Trump Says George Floyd Would Say 'This Is A Great Thing That's Happening For Our Country'
WASHINGTON (AP/WCCO) -- President Donald Trump is taking a victory lap after the government reported surprising job gains for last month.
Trump seized on the data to predict that the worst of the coronavirus pandemic and its economic disruption was in the rear-view mirror.
The unemployment rate dropped to a better-than-expected 13.3%, but that is still on par with what the nation witnessed during the Great Depression.
In remarks Friday, Trump briefly mentioned George Floyd, who died as a police officer knelt on his neck last week in Minneapolis.
Speaking about the economy, Trump said, "Hopefully George is looking down right now and saying this is a great thing that's happening for our country. It's is a great day for him, it's a great day for everybody. It's a great day for everybody. This is a great, great day."
Trump also commented on the job performance of Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey during last week's violence unrest.
"It was under siege like nobody's ever seen, where people are running from a police department, The great police. They were told to, they didn't want to run, they were told to. It's bad bad governing. And I'm not blaming the Governor, I'm blaming the Mayor. But we want to get all of this finished," Trump said.
WCCO has reached out to Frey's office for comment, and here's what he said to us:
"Do I believe the President's response to the crisis in our Twin Cities has been helpful? No. But we would welcome federal resources to help our city rebuild and recover with open arms."
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