A polite reminder that the United States considers itself the land of the free
Donald Trump yet again courted controversy by claiming it was “the most beautiful thing” that a journalist was shot by police back in May.
MSNBC journalist Ali Velshi was covering a protest in Minneapolis when he was struck in the knee by a rubber bullet. At a rally held in Minnesota on Friday, Trump said Velshi’s injury was merely an example of “law and order”.
https://twitter.com/davidgura/status/1307318498205425665?s=20
Trump said: “I remember this guy Velshi, he got hit in the knee with a canister of tear gas, and he went down.
“My knee, my knee – nobody cared. It was the most beautiful thing. Wasn’t it really a beautiful sight? It’s called law and order.”
Velshi was acting in full compliance with the law when reporting on the protest in Minnesota. Velshi’s employer MSNBC published a statement in full support of the journalist, following Trump’s remarks.
.@MSNBC statement in response to President Trump's comments about anchor @AliVelshi: https://t.co/cD2LQ2Xv13 pic.twitter.com/gcpX9LAxTW
— MSNBC Public Relations (@MSNBCPR) September 19, 2020
Velshi called out the President himself.
So, @realDonaldTrump, you call my getting hit by authorities in Minneapolis on 5/30/20 (by a rubber bullet, btw, not a tear gas cannister) a “beautiful thing” called “law and order”. What law did I break while covering an entirely peaceful (yes, entirely peaceful) march?
— Ali Velshi (@AliVelshi) September 19, 2020
The 50-year-old said: “You call my getting hit by authorities in Minneapolis on 5/30/20 (by a rubber bullet, btw, not a tear gas canister) a ‘beautiful thing’ called ‘law and order’. What law did I break while covering an entirely peaceful (yes, entirely peaceful) march?”
Bizarrely, President Trump’s delight at the journalist’s injury was not the strangest thing said at Friday’s speech.
The US President then went on to claim that his supporters in Minnesota were genetically superior to others.
"You have good genes, you know that, right? You have good genes. A lot of it is about the genes, isn't it, don't you believe? The racehorse theory. You think we're so different? You have good genes in Minnesota." — Trump pic.twitter.com/OiF63qZaKx
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 19, 2020
Speaking about Minnesota, a state The Huffington Post claim is 84% white, Trump said: “You have good genes, you know that, right? You have good genes. A lot of it is about the genes, isn’t it, don’t you believe? The racehorse theory. You think we’re so different? You have good genes in Minnesota.”
It is beyond parody at this point. Chris Morris, Armando Iannucci and their counterparts in the US have essentially been put out of work.
