Obama "Urges Americans to Avoid Divisive Rhetoric"
07/17/2016
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From the Associated Press:

Obama condemns killing of Baton Rouge officers, urges Americans to avoid divisive rhetoric

on July 17, 2016 at 5:42 PM, updated July 17, 2016 at 5:51 PM

WASHINGTON (AP) — Confronting another killing of police officers, President Barack Obama on Sunday urged Americans to tamp down inflammatory words and actions as a violent summer collides with the nation’s heated presidential campaign.

Obama said the motive behind Sunday’s killing of three officers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, was still unknown. It was the latest in a string of deadly incidents involving law enforcement, including the police shooting of a black man in Baton Rouge and the killing of five officers in Dallas.

“We as a nation have to be loud and clear that nothing justifies attacks on law enforcement,” Obama said in remarks from the White House briefing room.

A 29-year-old man from Kansas City, Missouri was the man who shot and killed three officers, according to CBS News

The president spoke on the eve of the Republican Party’s national convention, where Donald Trump will officially accept the GOP nomination. The businessman has cast the recent incidents as a sign that the country needs new leadership, often using heated rhetoric to make his point.

“Every one right now focus on words and actions that can unite this country rather than divide it further,” Obama said. …

Obama has spent most of the last week focused on defusing tensions and rebuilding trust between police departments and the communities they serve. …

The next day, Obama held an extraordinary four-hour meeting at the White House’s executive offices with police officers, community activists and elected leaders, emerging from the session saying “we’re not even close” to the point where minority communities could feel confident that police departments were serving them with respect and equality or where police departments could feel adequately supported at all levels.

So, basically, when you get right down to it, it’s Trump’s fault.

[Comment at Unz.com]

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