Sunday shows – George Floyd’s death, protests bump COVID-19 from headlines

The Sunday morning political shows were dominated by the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis and the resulting protests, after months of attention on the coronavirus pandemic.

Sometimes-violent protests have erupted in cities across the nation since video surfaced of a Minneapolis police officer detaining Floyd by placing his knee on Floyd’s neck as Floyd said he could not breathe.

Floyd died shortly after the incident. The officer was fired and has been charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.

Read The Hill’s complete coverage below.

National security adviser blames ‘a few bad apples,’ says there’s not systemic racism in law enforcement By REBECCA KLAR   White House national security adviser Robert O’Brien said Sunday a “few bad apples” are to blame for issues of police brutality and denied that there is any systemic racism in U.S. law enforcement agencies.  “I don’t think there is systemic racism. I think 99.9 percent of our law enforcement officers are great Americans,” O’Brien said on CNN’s “State of the Union,” adding that “many” are African American, Hispanic and Asian. Read the full story here

Minnesota AG says black Minnesotans have reason to fear local police By ZACK BUDRYK    Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison (D) said Sunday that black Minnesotans are justified in their fear of the local police as Minneapolis and other cities explode in unrest over the death of George Floyd. Read the full story here

Omar says some protestors ‘felt terrorized by the presence of tanks,’ National Guard By JUSTINE COLEMAN    Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) said on Sunday that while some Minneapolis residents felt safer with National Guard troops on city streets after demonstrations over the police-involved death of George Floyd turned violent, others “felt terrorized by the presence of tanks” while protesting. Read the full story here

Head of Minnesota police chiefs association: Police not trained in hold used on George Floyd By ZACK BUDRYK    The executive director of the Minnesota Chiefs of Police said Sunday that the hold used on George Floyd in Minneapolis was contrary to police training. Read the full story here

Booker: More than ‘momentary outrage’ needed after George Floyd’s death By REBECCA KLAR   Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) is calling for the protests over the death of George Floyd to lead to tangible, legislative change. Read the full story here

Pelosi: Presidents should not ‘fuel the flame’ By JUSTINE COLEMAN    Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Sunday that U.S. presidents should not “fuel the flame” and instead focus on “unifying our country.” Read the full story here

Tim Scott: Trump’s ‘shooting,’ ‘vicious dogs’ tweets ‘are not constructive’ By ZACK BUDRYK    Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), the sole African-American Republican in the upper chamber, said that President Trump’s tweets threatening demonstrators and looters with “shooting” and “vicious dogs” amid protests over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis are “not constructive,” but said the president has been receptive to his advice in private. Read the full story here

Republican governor says Trump sending opposite message of one that should come from White House By REBECCA KLAR   Gov. Larry Hogan (R-Md.) said President Trump’s response to the protests breaking out in response to George Floyd’s death is the opposite of the message the White House should be sending. Read the full story here

Atlanta mayor says Trump should ‘stop talking’ about protests: ‘This is like Charlottesville all over again’ By REBECCA KLAR    Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms (D) said President Trump should stop commenting on the protests sweeping the nation in response to the death of George Floyd, arguing that the president is making the situation worse. Read the full story here

O’Brien defends Trump tweets: The president ‘wants to de-escalate violence’ By JUSTINE COLEMAN   National security adviser Robert O’Brien on Sunday defended President Trump’s tweets labeling violent protesters as thugs and saying that looting leads to shooting amid demonstrations over the death of George Floyd, saying the president “wants to de-escalate violence.” Read the full story here

Cornel West: ‘We’re witnessing the collapse of the legitimacy of leadership’ By ZACK BUDRYK   “What we’re seeing here is the ways in which the vicious legacy of white supremacy manifests in organized hatred, greed and corruption,” Harvard Divinity School professor Cornel West said on “Fox News Sunday.” “We’re witnessing the collapse of the legitimacy of leadership, the political class, the economic class, the professional class, that’s the deeper crisis.” Read the full story here