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Home • News

A Reporter Asked Why Black Americans Are Being Killed By Police. Trump Responded 'So Are White People'

Data has shown that Black people are more likely to be killed by police, even as they are more likely to be unarmed.
A Reporter Asked Why Black Americans Are Being Killed By Police. Trump Responded 'So Are White People'
Drew Angerer/Getty Images
By Breanna Edwards · Updated November 4, 2020

Donald Trump apparently doesn’t have an understanding of statistics—on Tuesday he claimed that “more White people” die because of police than Black people.

It all started at a White House interview, when CBS News’s Catherine Herridge brought up the police-involved death of George Floyd.

“Why are African-Americans still dying at the hands of law enforcement in this country?” the reporter asked Trump.

The impeached president immediately lashed out at Herridge for the “terrible question.”

“So are White people. So are White people,” he said. “What a terrible question to ask. So are White people. More White people, by the way. More White people.”

President Trump tells @CBS_Herridge that “more White people” are dying at the hands of police than Black people. Watch excerpts on CBSN, more tonight on @CBSEveningNews and tomorrow on @CBSThisMorning https://t.co/NeBLT0LG0p pic.twitter.com/XIwyARJBBl

— CBS News (@CBSNews) July 14, 2020

When the numbers are viewed with no context, it is true that “more White people” are killed by police than Black people. However, when you look at rate at which Black and White people are killed in relation to their representation in the overall population, a different unfolds.

Data from Mapping Police Violence shows that since 2013, Black people account for 28 percent of those killed by police, despite only representing 13 percent of the population.

The same data shows that Black people are three times more likely to be killed by police than their White counterparts, although they are 1.3 times more likely to be unarmed.

TOPICS:  Black Lives Matter Donald Trump donald trump black people Police Brutality police killings police violence