New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio blamed President Trump for helping “create this atmosphere” of racial injustice that spurred the George Floyd riots sweeping the country.
Mr. de Blasio was asked during a press conference Saturday whether Mr. Trump had been responding appropriately to the national unrest and violence stemming from the Memorial Day death of Floyd, an unarmed black man who died in Minneapolis after a white police officer pinned him to the ground by the neck.
“I can tell you this, and this is the blunt truth, the president of the United States helped to create this atmosphere, and that’s the tragedy here,” Mr. de Blasio said. “It doesn’t matter what your party affiliation is, doesn’t matter what you think of President Trump, there’s been an uptick in tension and hatred and division since he came along.
“It’s just a fact,” he continued. “And it’s not the reason for any specific act, but it has helped to poison the atmosphere. So, we gotta get back to leaders talking about unity. … We always talk about unity. We always talk about respect for peaceful protest, respect for communities, respect for different points of view, looking for how we can work together, and obviously that’s not been the tone set from the top in Washington, and that’s one of the reasons we’re in this mess we’re in.
“But I’m not going to be discouraged by it,” he added. “We have to, in this city and cities all over America, we have to heal ourselves, we’re not going to look to Washington, D.C. We’re going to overcome Washington, D.C. and find a way to heal ourselves and move forward. But it has to come from justice. At this point, people are so angry and so frustrated that only seeing real justice and real progress will satisfy that, which means we all have to do better and that’s what we’re committed to do.”
Protests and riots rocked the country for the sixth straight night Sunday following Floyd’s death. Mr. Trump blames much of the violence on antifa, a largely white militant leftist group that will soon be designated a terrorist organization, he said.
Hours after his remarks blaming Mr. Trump for the violence, Mr. de Blasio’s 25-year-old daughter, Chiara, was arrested at an unlawful demonstration in Lower Manhattan, where protesters were hurling objects in the direction of officers, police said.
Chiara de Blasio was arrested at 12th Street and Broadway after blocking traffic and refusing repeated orders to leave, according to police.
The mayor said Monday he was “proud” of his daughter’s actions.
“I love my daughter deeply, I honor her,” Mr. de Blasio said. “I’m proud of her that she cares so much, she was willing to go out there and do something about it.”
“She was acting peacefully,” he said. “She believes everything she did was in the spirit of peaceful, respectful protest.”
