In his public statements about George Floyd's death in police custody, Joe Biden conspicuously left out any mention of the rampant civil unrest and mob violence plaguing Minneapolis and other cities across the country.
During a Friday address, the former vice president condemned “systemic” injustice and attacked President Trump for his incendiary tweets late Thursday night, in which the president wrote that “when the looting starts, the shooting starts.”
"This is a national crisis," Biden said. "We need real leadership right now. Leadership that will bring everyone to the table so we can take measures to root out systemic racism."
Rioting in Minneapolis and St. Paul has led to the damage or destruction of dozens of businesses. On Thursday night, a crowd stormed into and subsequently burned down a Minneapolis Police Department precinct house.
Early Friday morning, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz deployed National Guard troops to help restore order in the state.
“That was the turning point, where we were prepared, and that's where we moved in," said Walz, a Democrat, referring to the looting and destruction of the police precinct house.
The closest Biden, the presumptive Democratic Party nominee for president, came to condemning the violence in Minneapolis was during a star-studded Thursday night digital concert fundraiser with musicians including Sheryl Crow, Jimmy Buffet, and Joe Walsh of the Eagles.
“Tonight, the National Guard has been called out of Minneapolis, and I urge the protesters to exercise their rights peacefully and safely,” Biden said. “But people all across this country are enraged and rightly so.”
Many on the Left criticized the use of the word “riot” to describe the looting, arson, and property damage that took place on Thursday and Friday, arguing that the actions were an inevitable response to structural inequities and racism. Citing the Martin Luther King Jr. quote, "A riot is the language of the unheard,” they argue that peaceful protests, such as former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick kneeling during the U.S. national anthem in response to perceived police brutality, are ineffective at instigating political change.
During a press conference on Friday, Minnesota attorney general and former deputy chairman of the Democratic National Committee Keith Ellison opened his remarks by saying a “riot is the way the unheard get heard.”
Biden’s choice of words is indicative of the struggles he faces trying to unite the Democratic Party heading into the general election: hoping to stay palatable to Midwestern moderate swing-state voters without alienating those on the Left.
His campaign remains concerned that supporters of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders are unconvinced of his candidacy and may not ultimately vote for him in November. Meanwhile, Biden’s enthusiasm rating among younger minorities remains historically low for a Democrat as Trump’s campaign launches an aggressive electoral pitch to urban voters.
Leftist activists snubbed Biden’s statements on the Floyd killing this week, pointing out that he was vice president during similar civil unrest following the police-involved deaths of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, in 2014 and of Freddie Gray in Baltimore in 2015.
President Barack Obama took a noticeably different tone in 2015, saying that there was “no excuse” for the Baltimore violence and that the “thugs” involved “need to be treated like criminals,” prompting criticism from those on the Left.
Others suggested that as the architect of a 1994 crime bill that increased the incarceration of minorities, Biden had a hand in creating an environment for the police violence that prompted the protest.
Just last week, Biden found himself in hot water when he told radio host Charlamagne tha God that those having trouble deciding whether to vote for him or Trump “ain’t black.” Biden apologized for the comment, coming into a week of racially charged protests especially cognizant that saying the wrong thing could set off a storm of controversy.
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