It’s Wednesday.
For Wednesday, May 26th, 2021, President Biden will have received his daily brief. This afternoon there is nothing on his schedule.
It appears that I was not the only one wondering about his short hop yesterday to Delaware. It turns out according to CNN White House reporter DJ Judd, the trip was so President Biden could attend a funeral of a longtime staffer.
When Tuesday’s Open Thread was posted, President Biden had not tweeted. He finished Tuesday with 6 tweets and no retweets.
His first tweet for Tuesday was to remark on the death of George Floyd.
As mentioned in Tuesday’s Open Thread, yesterday marked the one-anniversary of Floyd’s death at the hands of Minneapolis police officers. One former officer Derek Chauvin has been convicted in that death, while three other former officers are expected to go on trial in March of 2022. Chauvin is scheduled to be sentenced on June 25th, 2021.
President Biden later tweets a photo of himself, Vice President Harris, and the Floyd family from the Oval Office.
President Biden offered the following statement regarding the murder of Floyd:
Today, in the Oval Office, I met with George Floyd’s family.
Although it has been one year since their beloved brother and father was murdered, for the family – for any family experiencing a profound loss – the first year can still feel like they got the news a few seconds ago. And they’ve had to relive that pain and grief each and every time those horrific 9 minutes and 29 seconds have been replayed.
Yet the Floyd family has shown extraordinary courage, especially his young daughter Gianna, who I met again today. The day before her father’s funeral a year ago, Jill and I met the family and she told me, “Daddy changed the world.”
He has.
His murder launched a summer of protest we hadn’t seen since the Civil Rights era in the ‘60s – protests that peacefully unified people of every race and generation to collectively say enough of the senseless killings.
Last month’s conviction of the police officer who murdered George was another important step forward toward justice. But our progress can’t stop there.
To deliver real change, we must have accountability when law enforcement officers violate their oaths, and we need to build lasting trust between the vast majority of the men and women who wear the badge honorably and the communities they are sworn to serve and protect. We can and must have both accountability and trust and in our justice system.
The negotiations on the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act in Congress are ongoing. I have strongly supported the legislation that passed the House, and I appreciate the good-faith efforts from Democrats and Republicans to pass a meaningful bill out of the Senate. It’s my hope they will get a bill to my desk quickly.
We have to act. We face an inflection point. The battle for the soul of America has been a constant push and pull between the American ideal that we’re all created equal and the harsh reality that racism has long torn us apart.
At our best, the American ideal wins out.
It must again.
White House.gov. 05/25/2021
Vice President Harris also offered a statement:
Today the President and I met with the family of Mr. George Floyd. Mr. Floyd should be alive today. He should be with his family who continue to show courage, grace, and resilience.
One year ago, a cellphone video revealed to the country what Black Americans have known to be true for generations. The verdict finding Derek Chauvin guilty of murder provided some measure of justice. But one verdict does not address the persistent issue of police misconduct and use of excessive force. It does not take away the Floyd family’s pain, nor the pain of all those families who have grieved the untimely loss of a loved one.
We need to do more.
After Mr. Floyd was murdered, Senator Cory Booker, Representative Karen Bass, and I introduced the Justice in Policing Act to hold law enforcement accountable and build trust between law enforcement and the communities it serves. Congress must move swiftly and act with a sense of urgency. Passing legislation will not bring back those lives lost, but it will represent much needed progress.
We must address racial injustice wherever it exists. That is the work ahead.
White House.gov. 05/25/2021.
For two of his tweets he explains how we need the American Jobs Plan and the American Families Plan.
In my head every time I read the tweets about the Jobs Plan and the Families Plan, I think about this song.
Why? No idea. But there you have it.
He next tweets that it’s a “big deal, folks,” that 50 percent of adults are now fully vaccinated against the coronavirus.
The CDC reported on Monday that…
He finished Tuesday tweeting by congratulating Kristen Clarke. Clarke was confirmed by the Senate to lead the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights division on Tuesday.
Senate.gov., records the vote as 51 Yea’s, 48 Nay’s, and one Senator did not vote. Maine Senator Susan Collins was the only Republican to vote with the Democrats to confirm Clarke.
He has tweeted 2 times so far for Wednesday.
For his 2nd tweet he repeats his applause line that “the American Jobs Plan is a blue-collar blueprint to rebuild America.”
Know what else doesn’t require a college degree? Being a sitting Congressperson. For example:
"Patriot" is not a pronoun.
— D Villella ❄️ (@dvillella) May 26, 2021
A Patriot would have condemned the Jan 6 insurrection, not encouraged it. pic.twitter.com/mRbKNx6IyF
Authors note: The whole thread, is hilarious.
Today’s daily press briefing is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. D.C., time.
@KJP46 =’s White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
This is an Open Thread.
