TRUMP DEFERS ‘JUNETEENTH’ RALLY, WANTS POLICE CHOKEHOLDS ENDED
WASHINGTON: American President Donald Trump has deferred an election rally he was scheduled to hold on June 19 in Tulsa, Oklahoma - the site of the worst racedriven massacre in US history in 1921 - which was to coincide with “Juneteenth” or June 19, the anniversary of the end of slavery in the country in 1865.
“Many of my African-American friends and supporters have reached out to suggest that we consider changing the date out of respect for this holiday, and in observance of this important occasion and all that it represents,” Trump tweeted. “I have therefore decided to move our rally to Saturday, June 20, in order to honour their requests.”
Trump is returning to the campaign trail after a break forced by the coronavirus pandemic. Oklahoma was to be his opening election rally, to be followed by Florida, Texas and North Carolina.
Trump has struggled to give a unifying message to the country on the anti-racism protests and has often appeared to take the side of law enforcement. On Friday, while he agreed that the practice of chokeholds, which the police use to subdue suspects, “should be ended”, he defended the controversial tactic in a counter argument.
“I don’t like chokeholds... (but) sometimes, if you’re alone and you’re fighting someone, it’s tough,” he told Fox News. He endorsed scaling back their use, but also pointed out that chokeholds were sometimes necessary, calling it a “tricky situation”.
New York state on Friday adopted a series of laws designed to put an end to police brutality against the African-American community. Governor Andrew Cuomo officially signed 10 laws.
Among the measures is a law banning chokeholds being used by law enforcement officers.