After another night of protests in America where demonstrators called for justice after the murder of George Floyd, the behavior of President Donald Trump and presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden couldn’t be more different.
On Monday morning, Biden visited a protest site in Wilmington, Delaware where he talked with those involved in the protests. “We are a nation in pain, but we must not allow this pain to destroy us,” Biden wrote.
He then visited Bethel AME church where he met with roughly a frozen black leaders. During the meeting, Biden sat quietly, listening to leaders while taking notes in a spiral notebook.
“The vice president came to hear from us. This is a homeboy,” Pastor Sylvester Beaman said before Biden and those present bowed their heads in prayer.
“We are a nation in pain, but we must not allow this pain to destroy us. We are a nation enraged, but we cannot allow our rage to consume us. We are a nation exhausted, but we will not allow our exhaustion to defeat us,” wrote in an Instagram post after the meeting.
“The only way to bear this pain is to turn all that anguish to purpose. And as President, I will help lead this conversation — and more importantly, I will listen, just as I did today visiting the site of last night’s protests in Wilmington,” he continued.
After serving as vice president to the first black president of the United States, Biden has a special place in the heart of the black community. Biden’s presumptive victory in the Democratic party came from the overwhelming support of black Democratic voters.
MSNBC’s Joy Reid perfectly explained Biden’s unique relationship with the black community by how he was welcomed in an Alabama church.
“Biden has a known brand, particularly to the voters who handed it to him tonight, which is black voters,” Reid said. “They know who he is. He’s Barack Obama’s V.P.”
Conversely, Donald Trump has been hiding in a bunker n the White House, chastising protesters and calling for violent action from law enforcement.
On Monday morning, Trump derided many governors as “weak” and demanded them to “dominate” any “troublemakers.”
“Most of you are weak,” Trump said. “You have to arrest people,” the president said over video conference. “You’ve got to arrest people, you have to track people, you have to put them in jail for 10 years and you’ll never see this stuff again.”
“We’re doing it in Washington, D.C.,” he continued. “We’re going to do something that people haven’t seen before.”
The demeanor of the two leaders gives voters a stark contrast when they go to the polls in November. While Biden calls for healing and listening in the wake of police brutality and protests, Trump calls for tougher action from law enforcement.
One path looks for ways to help address systemic abuse of violent state power, the other looks to grow it exponentially.
