MINNEAPOLIS-Vice President Mike Pence and Ivanka Trump hosted a “Cops for Trump” listening session just 39 days before the presidential election in an effort bring President Trump’s pro-law enforcement campaign efforts to the Minnesota city.
The listening session follows a four-month string of national protests that began in the Twin Cities after the death of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man who was killed by police in May. The Trump reelection campaign invited business owners and community members who have been negatively affected by the protests to share how they were impacted by the period of civil unrest.
Vice President Pence told attendees on Thursday that the riots and looting which resulted from the protests are not justified by Floyd’s death.
“I want to be clear. There is no excuse for what happened to George Floyd, and justice will be served,” Pence said. “But there’s also no excuse for the rioting, and looting, and violence that ensued, and those who engaged in acts like these will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”
The Vice President also reiterated the law-and-order rhetoric perpetuated by the Trump reelection campaign, while attempting to appeal to Americans of diverse racial backgrounds.
“I will promise you with President Donald Trump in the Whitehouse, we are going to have law and order in every city, in every state in this country, for every American of every race, and creed, and color, so help us God.”
The roundtable discussion featured business owners such as Flora Westbrooks, whose salon Flora Hair Design, burned down during the riots in May.
“My business burned down May 29. I got a phone call that my son’s business was on fire, I knew that I was two doors down from him, so I knew my business was going to start burning pretty soon,” Westbrooks said. “It was horrible to stand there and see your business burn, everything you worked for, your whole life literally just to burn in front of you.”
Ivanka Trump promised Westbrooks that the Trump Administration would help her rebuild the business she lost to the fire.
“It was a family business, working alongside your sister and your niece, doing what you loved. Seeing that burned down before you eyes in a matter of hours by looters and rioters. Our heart goes out to you,” she said. “We will do what America does best. We will rebuild together as individuals, as communities, with the President’s full support and the Vice President’s support to help you and others like you to rebuild.”
Other business owners like Lloyd Drilling, owner of Thurston Jewelers, whose store was broken into by looters while police were overwhelmed by the riots, shared their experiences with the Vice President. After the community members shared their stories, Vice President Pence pledged his alliance to the American people.
“As I said earlier, it’s not an either-or. American people, no we don’t have to choose, and we should never choose, between supporting law enforcement and supporting, whether it be our African American neighbors, or any minority communities in our cities,” Vice President Pence said. “All of the American people deserve law and order, and I promise you President Donald Trump and I are going to roll our sleeves up and carry that message all across this country.”
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