we'll of course continue to cover this movement and see if george floyd's 6-year-old daughter is proven right, that her daddy changed the world. may he rest in peace, and may his memory be a blessing. erin burnett "out front" starts right now. out front next, as george floyd is laid to rest next to his mother, the president of the united states pushes a conspiracy thaer ri about a 75-year-old protester, still in the hospital after police pushed him down on the street. more deadly police incidents are caught on tape. the family of a black man shot six times by a new jersey state trouper wants answers. and congressman clyburn, out front tonight with strong advice and a warning for the former vice president. let's go out front. ♪ and good evening.

i'm erin burnett. out front tonight, it's not okay. on the day when the nation said a final good-bye to george floyd, whose death has sparked a national movement on police brutality, the president chose to smear this man, 75-year-old peaceful protester in buffalo who was shoved to the ground by police last week. the president of the united states tweeting without any evidence whatsoever that that protester could be an antifa agitator, and quote, i watched, he fell harder than was pushed. could be a set up. a set up? i want to play the incident that trump is suggesting is a set up. it is difficult to watch. you see him there. he's pushed. he falls. then he has blood coming out of his ear. and i want to just note to you that this was five days ago. gugino is still in the hospital. he was in the intensive care

unit. he's still in the hospital. the two officers have been charged with assault. where the president of the united states come up with an absurd conspiracy theory about that 75-year-old man being a member of antifa and purposely falling. he was watching the far right pro-trump network that aired a so-called report, based on a blog with no evidence. this isn't just an absurd thing. it's disturbing. it can't be dismissed or normalized anymore that this is how the president of the united states spends his time. it should not be partisan to say this is not okay and it's inappropriate. while critics a and democrats c it dark, untrue, senator marco rubio said i didn't see it. you're telling me about it. i didn't read twitter. or john cornyn, quote, i'm not going to comment on the president's tweets. here are three more for good measure. >> what about the president's tweet though? was that appropriate, sir?

>> as i said, we are discussing in the senate republican conference what response we think is appropriate to the events of the last two weeks. >> i just saw the tweet and i know nothing of the episode so i don't know. i'm not as fixated, i guess, as some people. >> you saw the tweet this morning where he talked about the buffalo protester. >> says he doesn't want to hear it. nor does most of his republican colleagues. they just want to move on and not talk btabout it. on the one hand, we get it. they don't want president trump to define them. anybody would understand that, right? at this point, president trump's tweets are the main way that he speaks to all americans and to the world, and they do define him. his tweets, therefore, matter. and it isn't okay anymore for people of good conscience to avoid them when they want to. so, there were some exceptions to the dodges and the claims of ignorance. senator mitt romney nailed it.

>> i saw the tweet. it was a shocking thing to say, and i won't dignify it with any further comment. >> and senator lisa murkowski called it, quote, it just makes no sense that we're fanning the flames right at this time. all of this as the protests around the country continue. simone prokupecz is outfront with protesters in new york city. shimon, what is happening tonight? >> reporter: these are several protesters, marchers, who set off from washington square mark, went walking across third avenue. and again we are heading towards gracy mansion. that is where the mayor resides. and as you can see over here at the front line, much of the conversation here today with the demonstrators has been about police reform and what they want and what they would like to see. of course the names of all the

different people over the course of several years that have died at the hands of police. those names have been chanted. you see a sign here with the different names of people who have died in encounters with police. and so this continues. every night here as protesters take to the streets here in manhattan and really marches, erin for hours, this will go on for several more hours. >> all right, shimon, thank you very much. as you said here in the heart of new york city. i want to go to kaitlan collins at the white house. kaitlan, any reaction behind the scenes on what the president chose to tweet about today, of course which is, you know, the 75-year-old man who fell and is still in the hospital? >> well, we asked the white house for comment on it. they haven't commented on it so far. and as you saw, the president stayed behind closed doors today. we did see his chief of staff on capital hill. he said he learned a long time ago not to comment on the president's tweets. that's clearly a feeling you saw a lot of republicans had though

people behind the scenes are talking about it. they have not felt like what the president has said so far in response to george floyd's death and the unrest you've seen across the nation has really helped him politically. you saw the cnn poll that said over 60% of adults said what he said has been more harmful than helpful. white house aides were planning on a speech for the president to give to unify the nation, police reform proeasy potentialaposals. so, they don't view a tweet like this from the president as helpful to them, of course. but you haven't seen any of the white house officials say that on the record. but it does make their days harder given that the president is floating this conspiracy theory. we should note that gugino's attorneys said law enforcement never suggested anything sinister on what happened there on his behalf of course. i even spoke with a friend of his who said he wanted to make

sure that people knew martin gugino is a real person with a real name. he's not a faceless person. and that's who the president is attacking on twitter to his 80 million followers. >> thank you very much, kaitlan. i want to go out front now to the democratic eerie county executive who is home to buffalo, new york, where this incident happened where the president tweeted. you have the president accusing a 75-year-old man, martin gugino, of being an antifa provok tor. he said he fell harder than pushed. we saw blood coming out of his head and he's still in the hospital. what's your response to the president? >> first of all, it's good to be with you. the president's tweets were unconscionable. today should have been about george floyd and his funeral. instead the president is coming up with a conspiracy theory that has no merit whatsoever.

mr. gugino is still at the medical center. he did announce he has moved out of the intensive care unit and i can confirm that. and he also has been confirmed to me that he has been upgraded from a serious to fair condition. so, he is doing better. i think we're all very pleased to hear that. but what the president did today was to put out a baseless conspiracy theory that has no merit whatsoever. and i know that because i was getting reports from law enforcement that night. and it's never been accused that mr. gugino is a member of antifa. he's a well-known peace activist, protests for environmental justice and social justice. and to smear his name like the president did without any basis in fact is reprehensible. >> i mean, you know -- and i know you mentioned it there, that he's well-known and obviously was peacefully protesting. but just to be clear here, have you seen any indication that he did anything wrong or he had any intentions of doing anything

other than peacefully protesting? >> we have no indications of that. as you could see from the video, he approaches the line by himself. there was a line of police officers. while it may have been past curfew, he did not pose any threat to the officers. we're all very sorry about the incident that happened. charged have been alleged against two officers and the judicial process will go through now. the problem is we had that incident and we had an incident last month in which a police officer following a protester was run over by a state trouper who is also in the hospital and recovering. so, we have these multiple incidences. our community was a tinderbox. we've had a number of days of very peaceful protests, and it has been peaceful on all sides. there are some that are protesting for law enforcement, others that are protesting against racial injustice and police brutality. and they've been peaceful. then the president issues a tweet today which is basically like throwing a match on a tinderbox trying to make an

allegation with no merit whatsoever. our community is trying to heal from the incident of last thursday as well as the incident of last monday. we are doing it peacefully. and then the president comes out with a tweet that has no merit whatsoever. i know that. i have the direct communications from law enforcement. it makes no sense especially when we should be hon forhadding t the life of george floyd today. >> what do you think happened in that moment? i know the two officers involved have been suspended, charged with assault. they've pleaded not guilty. they've been released. the 57 members of the buffalo response team had resigned from the unit in support of those officers. what should happen here? was there any mentalintent? >> i don't think there was malintent. i can't imagine the officers wanted to push him down. there was another video from across niagara square where you could see mr. gugino's head snap

back and hit the ground. you could hear his head hit the ground. i can't imagine the officers were intended that. we're talking about a 75-year-old man. so, it's very important that we realize that while there may not have been intent to cause serious injury, they did push him. and under the law, that is a potential assault. now, it is before the district attorney now. it is going to go before the courts. and the judicial process needs to move forward. they're entitled to due process. they are presumed innocent until proven guilty. i think our community is going to be working to ensure that the right thing is done not only in this situation here so that they get their due process, but also so that we address police brutality and injustice not just in eerie county and the city of buffalo but across our country. i was part of a peaceful protest that marched from downtown to another part of the city of buffalo where there were 5,000 of us. and i think each of us are just looking to change what has been unfortunately a bad system. we know that being a police

officer is very different. many of them serve well. most of them serve well. but for the ones that are not, we need to remove them. >> mark, a appreciate your time. thank you. >> thank you. next, a 28-year-old black man pulled over for speeding, moments later dead. shot by an officer after a struggle, so what happened. plus a final good-bye to george floyd, one of floyd's close friend who is pointed to floyd as a role model. trump's base has been with him since the beginning. is it strong enough for him to win? as a struggling actor,

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tonight, echos of george floyd, newly released video of a black man telling officers i can't breathe. he was tased multiple times in texas. it's one of several videos revealing encounters between police and people of color. some of the videos are disturbing. >> it is all too horribly familiar. >> stop resisting. >> even the dying words of the victim sound the same, but if you think you know these cases, you probably don't. march 28, 2019, austin texas, sheriff's deputies pursuing javier ambler. police say ambler had not dimmed

his headlights as he drove past a deputy and ambler led them on a 22-minute chase. body camera footage captures what happens during his arrest. ambler exited his car with his hands up. he was not intoxicated or armed. officers say ambler resisted police attempts to restrain him and refused their commands. ambler can be heard telling deputies he has a heart condition. the officers tased ambler multiple times and the body camera video shows him going into distress. he's heard saying "i can't breathe." shortly afterwards officer realize ambler is no longer responsive. they remove his handcuffs and administer cpr.

javier ambler is pronounced dead less than an hour later. the investigation is ongoing. t t february 29th of this year, new mexico, it begins as a traffic stop. police say they learned after they stopped him that antonio valenzuela has an open warrant for parole violation. according to the local attorney general's, valuenzuela runs awa. officers taze him twice. according to the district attorney, on the ground, valenzuela continues to struggle. >> i'm going to choke out out, bro. >> one of the officers applies a choke hold. ems is called to the scene and begin life-saving measures but are unsuccessful. the officer who used the neck restraint has been charged with involuntary manslaughter. his lawyer did not immediately respond to cnn's request for comment. may 23rd, garden state parkway,

new jersey. 28-year-old maurice gordon is pulled over for speeding according to the state attorney general's office which just released this video. when gordon's car won't restart, state trouper randall wetzel tells him to sit in the police cruiser to stay out of traffic. the officer offers gordon a mask and the dash cam footage seems routine. then gordon unfastens his seat belt and appears to get out of the car. the officer orders him back and the struggle begins. according to the attorney general's office, gordon twice tried to get into the driver seat. the first time the officer uses pepper spray on gordon. then after a second attempt, another struggle. and eventually six gunshots. gordon collapses to the road and dies. and we reached out to trooper wetzel but so far we have not heard an answer back.

meanwhile the governor of new jersey says that case will go to a grand jury to determine whether or not charges will be filed against the state trouper. and of course we'll continue to follow that case and the many others like it. >> martin, thank you very much. i want to go out front to william wag staff, the attorney for maurice jordan's family. trying to help the family get answers about maurice's death. william, let me start with you. that video just released 16 days after gordon's death. what do you want everyone to know about what happened? >> well, i think it's very interesting that at the outset the attorney general's office stonewalled the family. i had to insist for multiple days up until the week after he had passed to try to even see the video to try to give the family some comfort. the only information the family was that their son was dead, they had no problem releasing

biographical information about mr. gordon to the public, however would give the family no information. who was his killer? did he die on the scene? did he die in the hospital? did he die in an ambulance? when they allow me access to the video, they don't show me the entire encounter. there was to had conversation about restrictions to the amount i would see. i get there. my colleague and i stop the video with 15 minutes left and becomes hostile when they tell me if you keep pushing to see any more of the video, that's going to be the end of this meeting. so, they convincingly try to tell people this was justified. and i think this is at this point another institutional cover up. they have done nothing from the beginning to even reach out to the family. the governor has not called the mother, has not called the father. and then to add insult to injury, yesterday over my written objection to them releasing the video for public consumption before the family

has opportunity to review it in private so they can process the video, get the opportunity to deal with their emotions, it's on youtube for the family even learns about it. the mother and his sister are sitting doing preparations for the funeral, and they get text messages saying the video was on youtube. so, the new jersey state attorney general's office found it appropriate for the world at large to see his last moments before his family was able to. >> so, shemar, what do you make of that and also to the point that william is saying you believe there's about 15 minutes of the video that are missing? you know, where is that video, and what do you think is on that? why do you think you haven't seen it, that it hasn't been released? >> those are questions for the state attorney general. all of the information that's relevant to what happened to mr. gordon should be released and promptly. i think it's also very important to understand what happened to mr. gordon in larger context of issues by the new jersey state troupers in term of racial

profiling. the fj had nj state troupers were under federal monitoring for racial profiling. they were under significant lawsuit action for discriminating against black and brown officers. new jersey has the worst black to white incarceration rate in the country, 12 to 1 and 30 to 1 for children. there's a long-standing issue in new jersey state police as well as local law enforcement in the state of new jersey. and this is part of the context in which we have to understand what happened to mr. gordon. all evidence should be released and released promptly so the family can know what happened to mr. gordon and the people can know whether or not the officer's conduct was appropriate here. >> it seems clear if they're going to put out any, you put it all out. that seems obvious. the parts of the video we do have, they're difficult to watch but it is important as people try to understand what happened here. this video starts after the officer hands gordon a mask.

obviously this happened just a couple of weeks ago, presumably because of coronavirus, and then here's what happened. >> get in car. [ bleep ]. >> so, they appear to scuffle, the officers repeatedly telling maurice gordon to get back in the car. gordon appears to get into the driver's seat twice before he is fatally shot with the six shots. do you have any knowledge at this point as to what happened, why gordon got out of the car, what he might have been doing, trying to do? >> if you look at the context of the entire stop, at the time that he exited the vehicle, he had been detained for probably 40 to 45 minutes. he was first in his own vehicle for 20 to 30 minutes. there was no information coming about where the tow truck was,

whether or not he was going to receive a summons. and he exited his vehicle to try to find out what was happening. the trooper got out of his vehicle and met him halfway and then invited him to sit in his own car. not withstanding him requiring to submit to a patdown which i don't believe that if it was a 40-year-old white businessman that he would have had to submit to a patdown before sitting in the back of the a cruiser while waiting for a tow truck. he wasn't under arrest. but setting that aside, he gets in the back of the cruiser and now he twice tries to take his seat belt off. the trooper says put your seat belt back on which he applies with. then he's no longer comfortable. if you're a black man in america and watch the way people of color interact with police after a few minutes of not being told you're under arrest, he appeared to me he was trying to leave to go back to his vehicle which the

officer should have allowed him to go back to his vehicle. if you did not want him to leave the vehicle, engage him verbally. don't engage him physically. before you get to the point of using deadly force, there should be steps along the continuum before you kill this man on the side of the garden state parkway. >> i think it is important too when you add the 40 to 50 minutes, the patdown, i think this gives people the context they need to understand this better because we just have these clips. when you look at them on their own, you don't have that information. shemar, the new jersey attorney general's office, you know, they released audio and video of what they call five episodes. they have video missing but they have released what they want people to see. with gordon over the course of about 30 hours, the first involves 911 call, he said he looked panicked, he had said something about a paranormal experience. he was acting totally different.

as you try to understand what happened here, the state of mind, how this could have possibly -- whether it was even relevant in this case of what happened -- do you feel you know at this point all the information? >> we absolutely don't know all the information which is why we need the state to release the evidence promptly so the family and the public can evaluate what happened. what's important to understand here too is the overwhelming amount of interactions police have with civilians involve non-violent civilians and often times relatively minor infractions. we had a report about someone didn't dim their lights enough. speeding. people are speeding constantly on the new jersey turnpike. officers have to understand that in this situation, they have to confirm that the individual was unarmed and he frisked him and knew he was unarmed. officers have to use a variety of tactics that are non-violent to deal with non-violent situations. we have officers too quick to become authoritative and cause these situations to happen again with black people who are viewed as a threat in ways white people

are not. i'm confident if that was that officer's white brother he would have dealt with him in a different way when he took his seat belt off. >> i appreciate your time very much. we'll continue to follow mr. gordon's case. next joe biden today honoring george floyd at today's emotional funeral. >> unlike most, you must grieve in public. a burden that is now your purpose to change the world for the better in the name of george floyd. and a new report on how close president trump came to firing his defense secretary the other day. you know what's good about this? your sign's pointing at my sign, so people are gonna look at my sign. switch to progressive and you can save hundreds.

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you're looking at live pictures from new york. a large group of protesters taking to the streets near city hall just hours after george floyd was laid to rest, buried next to his mother, who he called out for as he was pinned down by police in minnesota. hundred of families and friends filling a church in houston to demand justice for his legacy. sara sidner is out front. >> reporter: a fourth and final

farewell for george floyd, a man whose death has sparked new life into a movement. his family members breaking down in front of the casket just before his body was sealed inside forever. >> let justice run down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream. >> i love you, and i thank god for giving me my own personal superman. ♪ he will take care >> no more hate crimes, please. someone said make america great again, but when has america ever been great? >> we must commit to this family all of these families, all five of his children, grandchildren, and all, that until these people pay for what they did, that we're gonna be there with them because lives like george will not matter until somebody pays the cost for taking their lives.

>> unlike most, you must grieve in public and it's a burden, a burden that is now your purpose to change the world for the better in the name of george floyd. . >> reporter: among the 500 family and friends of floyd inside the fountain of praise church in houston, the black american families who know the pain all too well, their children killed by police too. the family of ferguson's michael brown, new york's eric garner, and dallas' botham jean. protests around the country pushing cities around the nation to consider police reform after two weeks of nationwide demonstrations. the houston police chief himself demanding reform from the inside out. >> the community recognizing bad policing when they see it, and there are still too many instances where bad policing is tolerated. we need to say no. >> reporter: the houston mayor

announcing at floyd's funeral an executive order to ban choke holds among other reforms. >> in this city we will ban choke holds and strangle holds. in this city, we will require deescalation. >> reporter: in minneapolis a judge approved a restraining order to stop police there from using neck restraints and choke holds. in new york, a promise by the mayor to cut some police funds and move them to youth and social services. ♪ the storms keep on raging >> reporter: back in texas, a procession following floyd's casket to its final resting place. his body to be laid to rest next to his mother whom he cried out for in his final moments. the family has been a three-city

soujourn and had to hold their heads up high in four memorials. they are now going to that final resting place for george floyd where he will be buried next to his mother and he will be in the last mile of that taken in a horse-drawn carriage so that the public can line the streets and say their final good-byes as well. erin. >> sara, thank you very much. i want to go to tiffany cofield now, one of george floyd's close friends. tiffany, i know you were a teacher in houston's third ward where george floyd grew up. you had a mentor your students. i know you were at the funeral today and hard day looking at pictures of you all together. what was it like being in that room with so many people honoring a person that you held so dear? >> it was so good to be surrounded by the love for him and people from all different walks of life, people that knew

him coming together and getting a small peak at the man that we all cherished and loved and knew and had to hang out with and spent time with. it was really nice to have that much support and love for him overall. >> tiffany, to all of us, he is a symbol of something happening in this country and around the world, of people standing up and protesting for justice. but, you know, on a personl level, tell us about him. i know you would ask george to come speak to your students, students who lived in the projects in the third world because he grew up there as well. he was a role model for them.

tell us what he did, what kind of role model he was. >> well, he would never ask them to do something he wouldn't do himself. and we would do various community events with different people, a community aspect. and then some of them didn't have a father figure in their home. i was looking at an alternative charter school. and that's actually how i met him. there was an incident that occurred at the time and we were having discussion in the classroom about it. and couple of the young men, he

could help them. when i first met him, we had a lot of dialogue, a lot of conversation simply about where these young men come from, giving better insight and ideology to why they responded the way they did when they would come to school sometimes and different things they endured. and sometimes, you know, it would be a little more difficult to do certain things. but he was always very genuine and very concerned. he loved his community.

everyone knew every time he would be around you felt like everything was okay because his presence made a difference. so, you know, it's such a loss. it's a loss. his presence not being here. >> well, tiffany, i am so sorry for your loss, your personal loss, your real deep personal loss. but i appreciate you sharing this with everybody because it's important that someone be known for who they were on that deep personal level. you know, of course, he is now a symbol to so many of something so big. thank you, tiffany. >> thank you. and next, congressman james clyburn has some advice and a warning for his friend joe biden. congressman clyburn is out front. plus we travel to where

trump's base to find out what they think of the president's handling of two crises. >> sometimes you look at him and you go okay, that may have been crossing a line, but he means well. he loves our country. with a truly long-term view that's been through multiple market cycles for over 85 years? with capital group, i can. talk to your financial professional or consultant for investment risks and information. the first and only full prescription strength non-steroidal anti-inflammatory gel available over-the-counter. new voltaren is powerful arthritis pain relief in a gel. voltaren. the joy of movement. nesome companies stillul arthhave hr stuck betweena gel. employeesentering data.a. changing data. more and more sensitive, personal data. and it doesn't just drag hr down. it drags the entire business down -- with inefficiency, errors and waste. it's ridiculous.

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new tonight, house majority leader hoyer says he hopes to hold a vote on democrats sweeping police reform bill. it is the most expansive effort in history. it includes banning the use of choke holds, creating a national police misconduct registry, and requiring uniformed officers to wear body cameras. democratic congressman from south carolina james clyburn who has endorsed joe biden for president. congressman, it's good to have you with me tonight. i mentioned a few specifics of the bill. i talked to the chief of police in houston just the other day. there's a lot of agreement on things like the choke holds. but the senate is working on its own version. as of now, their proposals does not include a ban on choke

holds. is any proposal that doesn't include that a non-starter for you and for democrats? >> thank you very much for having me, erin. i hate to ever call anything a non-starter because if you get 90% of what you want and then that one little thing, you might go ahead and fight another day. i'm a great believer in the adage a half loaf is better than no loaf at all. so, i never call anything a non-starter. >> and you know, you had ten days of protests. and then some democrats started to much more loudly call to defund or dismantle police departments in the wake of george floyd's death. we even heard that as a chant on the streets of new york yesterday. here's what a few of your colleagues are saying. >> what are you willing to sacrifice to make sure that overfunded police departments are defunded? >> the minneapolis police department is rotten to the root. so, when we dismantle it, we get

rid of that cancer. >> that was ilhan omar and alexandria ocasio-cortez. you have warned that language like this could hijack police reform efforts. president trump has seized on it. he tweeted law and order, not abolish police. the radical left democrats have gone crazy. what do you say to democrats saying police departments should be defunded and dismantled? >> well, if you've got a rotten police department, treat it like you treat a rotten apple. get rid of it. police departments are needed. police departments are wanted. we want good police departments and good police. now everybody keeps telling me about what happened in camden, new jersey. i know what happened in camden, new jersey. they got rid of a rotten police department and they turned over the policing to the county, even

hired some private people to do the policing. they did not defund policing. they defunded a rotten department. there's a difference. and so i will say to all of my friends, to me history is instructed. i was there the moment john lewis back in the '60s and early '70s. we saw how our movement got hijacked. we did a lot back then that led to where we are today. we would have done even more if we had not got overtaken by slogans, burn baby burn, took off in this country. that was not john lewis. he never struck a match. that was not jim clyburn. i never threw a brick. we were trying to get things so that our children and grandchildren can have a better life in these united states of america.

and i will say to all of those people who are benefitting from those efforts, be careful that we don't get hijacked this time like we got the last time. >> powerfully said. you know, there are -- as you know because you've endorsed joe biden and i remember talking to you about that down in south carolina. there's several african-american women on his short list for vice president. and he of course has said he is going to pick a woman. does he need to pick an african-american woman? do you think that this is now something he must do? >> i will never tell anybody what they must do, and i don't want anybody telling me what i must do. let's share what i should do and maybe what you should do. and i will say this, i will be very proud -- i'm the father of three african-american women. i would love to see an african-american woman. that would be a plus, but it would not be a must.. >> and do you think given the

cross roads we're in when it comes to race, that biden could pick anyone who is not african american. before what happened with mr. floyd, he was looking at a wide variety of women. some white and african-american women. do you think that now he must pick someone who is african-american. again i use the word must so i i'll use your word should. but do you think that is changing the way he should look at this decision? >> i don't know. i said from the beginning we must do the vetting, must do the polling and then i would say to the vice president, after your committee, he has a committee doing this, then you take a look with your head and your heart. i feel very strongly that we ought not fly in the face of history. i saw what happened with sarah palin. she was a great choice, everybody thought. but she wasn't vetted properly. the same thing with geraldine

ferrero, she was a great charge for mondale and all of a sudden the vetting wasn't done of her husband and that was a big problem. so let's just calm down, do the vetting, do the polling, and then let the vice president sit down with those results and let his head and heart be his guide. >> well we know he listened to what you say as his long time friend and confidant. thank you so much. i appreciate your time tonight. >> thank you. up next, what trump voters are saying about forcefully clearing protesters for the photo op in front of the church. >> i thought he was displaying support for the christian church and that historic church. but i thought he was very, very brave to walk there.

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ton the "wall street journal"

reporting that trump almost fired mark esper. it is the kind of turmoil in the crucial state of florida can overlook and support trump in november. jeff zeleny is out front. >> reporter: in trump country more than ever feels like a world away from washington. sometimes you look at them and go, okay, that may have been crossing a line. but he marineans well. he loves our country. >> the trump army is mobilizing for november promoting the president's record and not dwelling on his rhetoric. >> for for me it is -- >> reporter: they believe the most important legacy warrants a second term. it is not that trump supporters are not watching events but

simply view them through a different lens than many meshes. from the photo op last week. >> i thought he was displaying support for the christian church and that historic church but i thought he was very, very brave to walk there. >> reporter: to the blistering criticism from former defense secretary james mattis and colin powell. >> mattis has his opinion. powell has his. but they are so many republican leaders solidly behind the president that he's going to continue to have a large base of support. >> reporter: the question is whether that base is enough to win. with one poll after another showing an erosion for trump among independents and women. dean black, the local republican chairman said he doesn't believe those polls. >> i don't think independent voters are going to be turned off in a way that is damaging to president trump and the republican party.

>> reporter: in 2016 trump carried duval county which includes jacksonville by slightly more than one point and neighboring st. john's county by three points and what he'll need to win again. >> i love jacksonville. >> reporter: jacksonville is now considered for the trup campaign for the party's august convention which prompted cries of outrage today. [ crowd chanting ] >> reporter: the mayor, a republican, removed the confederate statue overnight and marched. >> does his rhetoric make it more difficult for you to do your job? >> i have no problem with doing my job. i signed up for this. >> reporter: the trump campaign tv ads here address the president's style head on. >> president trump's not always polite. mr. nice guy won't cut it. >> reporter: if that sentiment is echoed in conversations with one trump voter after another. >> i have issues with his approach to things.

but i don't feel the democratic candidate right now is very strong or would be able to take the nation further. so come november i probably will support him again. unless there is just total collapse. >> so jeff joins me now. from jacksonville, so trump supporters what do they see now. >> there is no question that president trump politics don't apply to him so the voters believe he absolutely will be re-elected. in fact they're more confident of that than some of the advisers are. but this is question. even as republican officials are deciding whether to hold the national convention here in jacksonville, which would excite trump supporters, how does that affect the rest of the electorate. some are exhausted by all of this. so as we go forward over the next four and a half months or

so, the exhaustion factor versus the excitement factor, that is the balance. >> right. excited ones will vote for him regardless. it is the others he needs to make end roads with. thank you so much. appreciate your time and all of yours. anderson starts now. good evening. george floyd is at rest tonight and the country that showed him its very best and finally its very worst is now changing all around him. after two and a half weeks of worldwide protests and memorial services in minneapolis, north carolina and houston, mr. floyd was buried today. in the hour ahead what may come of his passing. dr. cornell west joins us, so does filmmaker spike lee. first the funeral and cnn's omar jimenez. >> reporter: george floyd called out for his mother who passed away to years ago. today he was laid to rest next to her after an emotional funeral in houston.