作为总统唐纳德·特朗普他努力应对广泛的种族正义抗议,周四前往达拉斯参加白宫称之为与宗教领袖、执法官员和小企业主的圆桌会议,健康和美国社会中的正义差异。"
自冠状病毒大流行期间竞选活动基本停止以来,奥巴马总统还将举行几个月来的首次个人筹款活动。
此行正值总统希望在民调数据下滑的情况下重新获得政治地位之际,而在这混乱的几周里,总统一直在努力应对民众抗议乔治·弗洛伊德(George Floyd)死亡的大规模示威活动。弗洛伊德是一名黑人,死于明尼阿波利斯警方拘留。
白宫美国创新办公室副主任贾隆·史密斯表示,周四的圆桌会议将为总统提供一个机会,解决美国社会在经济层面存在的差距。
史密斯在接受美国广播公司采访时说:“总统将会谈到我们必须解决的许多问题,包括弱势群体面临的历史性差距,医疗保健、司法和经济方面的历史性差距。”。“我们将更详细地讨论如何为我们最脆弱的社区的繁荣创造一个整体战略。”
白宫周四宣布的圆桌会议没有直接提及种族或种族差异,但在弗洛伊德遇害后,总统迫于压力与非裔美国人举行了一次听证会。
总统星期一在白宫与执法人员举行了一次圆桌讨论会,星期三在白宫会见了一些非洲裔美国人的支持者。
这两次活动的参与者基本上都不批评特朗普对待美国黑人、种族正义和警察的方式。没有迹象表明特朗普与任何抗议者交谈过,数万名抗议者聚集在他家门口的华盛顿街头。
白宫尚未公布周四圆桌会议的与会者名单,该圆桌会议在达拉斯一个高档社区以白人为主的福音门教堂举行。
2020年6月10日,美国总统唐纳德·特朗普在华盛顿白宫内阁会议室的圆桌讨论会上发言。
2020年6月10日,美国总统唐纳德·特朗普在华盛顿白宫内阁会议室的圆桌讨论会上发言。帕特里克·塞曼斯基/美联社
总统访问达拉斯的同时,白宫也表示他们正在积极起草一份警察改革提案。白宫新闻秘书凯丽·麦克纳尼说,当务之急是在“确保警察能够完成他们的工作”和“确保在乔治·弗洛伊德被杀后进行必要的改革”之间取得平衡
白宫还没有透露他们可能会支持什么样的改革,但总统已经广泛地表示,他愿意考虑一些改革,以他所称的“更温和的方式”来执行警务
麦克纳尼星期三对记者说:“总统在过去的十天里一直在静静地、勤奋地研究解决抗议者在全国范围内提出的问题——合法问题——的提案。“据我所知,这部作品已经到了最后的编辑阶段,我们希望在接下来的几天里为您制作这部作品。我不能向你保证是明天,但在接下来的日子里,我们会努力实现这一目标。”
Trump holding roundtable in Dallas on 'disparities' as he seeks to regain political footing
As PresidentDonald Trumpstruggles with his response to widespread protests for racial justice, he was headed to Dallas Thursday for what the White House has described as a roundtable with faith leaders, law enforcement officials, and small business owners on “historic economic,health, and justice disparities in American communities.”
The president will also hold his first in-person fundraiser in several months since campaign activity largely came to halt amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The trip comes as the president is looking to regain his political footing amid sagging poll numbers and a tumultuous couple of weeks during which the president has struggled with how to respond amid mass demonstrations in reaction to the death of George Floyd, a black man who died in Minneapolis police custody.
Ja’Ron Smith, the deputy director of the White House Office of American Innovation, said Thursday’s roundtable will be an opportunity for the president to address the disparities that exist within American society on an economic level.
“The president is going to talk about a lot of the solutions that we have to deal with some of the historic disparities that exists for vulnerable populations, historic disparities on healthcare, justice and economics," Smith told ABC News. "We'll get into a little more detail on what it takes to create a holistic strategy for the prosperity of our most vulnerable communities."
The White House’s announcement of Thursday’s roundtable makes no direct mention of race or racial disparities, but it comes as the president has been under pressure to hold a listening session with the members of the African American community in the wake of Floyd’s killing.
The president held a roundtable discussion with members of law enforcement at the White House Monday and met with some African American supporters at the White House Wednesday.
Those two events featured participants who were largely uncritical of Trump's approach to black Americans, racial justice and policing. There have been no signs Trump has spoken with any protesters, tens of thousands of whom have gathered just outside his doorstep in the streets of Washington.
The White House has yet to release a list of participants in Thursday’s roundtable, which is being held at the predominantly-white Evangelical Gateway Church in an upscale Dallas neighborhood.
The president’s visit to Dallas also comes as the White House has said they are actively crafting a police reform proposal. White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said the priority was to strike a balance between “ensuring police can do their job and ensuring that there is needed reform in the aftermath of the killing of George Floyd.”
The White House has yet to reveal what sorts of reforms they are likely to endorse but the president has said broadly that he is open to considering some reforms to carry out policing in what he described as a “more gentle fashion.”
"The president has spent the last ten days quietly and diligently working on proposals to address the issues that the protesters have raised across the country -- legitimate issues," McEnany told reporters Wednesday. "And that body of work, I'm told, is reaching its final edits, and we hope to produce it for you in the coming days. I can't promise you it's tomorrow, but in the coming days, we look to deliver that."