good saturday morning, everyone. it is may 30th. i'm kendis gibson. >> i'm lindsey reiser. >> we are on early because of the protests happening in more than two dozen cities across the country. >> from coast to coast, breaking news, protests, clashes, fires and arrests on city streets in outrage over george floyd, but really something more than that, decades of oppression of many folks in this country going on to the streets to protest. he, of course, was a black man who died on memorial day after a police officer kneel on his

neck. >> we will take you around the country now. in los angeles overnight, tense moments as protesters and police crashed. lapd vehicles damaged in this. in denver, more flashbangs and tear gas from police as they tried to break up protests. some protesters were seen lobbing water bottles and other objects at police officers. in cincinnati, not much of a police presence, at least not in this shopping district as protesters shattered store-front windows. look at this video from brooklyn, new york. wow. protesters squared off with nypd officers. dozens were arrested. one officer in video going viral was noticed pushing down a woman who was backing up at the time. that will get some traction and that will get some people in trouble. on the west coast in oakland, protesters began throwing bol throwing bottles and fireworks and officers were among the

injured as police moved in to try to take control. the city has its own troubled relationship with the police department which is in the 17th year of a federal consent decree for civil rights violations. >> in oakland at one point they rigged a bulldozer and took it on to the street, they hot wired it. oakland being very much oakland in this protest. protests erupted overnight in spite of the arrest of derek chauvin, the police officer who was videotaped there kneeling on floyd's neck for nearly nine minutes. charges of third degree murder did not keep protesters off the streets of minnesota. just a short time ago in the overnight hours, the governor asking protesters to go home. i myself can fully understand the rage. i spoke this evening to george floyd's siblings quite extensively. i understand that rage. we have talked about it. we understand what has to happen.

what is going on out there right now is not that. i am deeply concerned with the people. you need to go home. you need to go home. the purpose of this -- and we're seeing it spread up across the country -- is making it more difficult to get to the point where we can deal with these issues. our neighbors are afraid. joining us right now from minneapolis is nbc news correspondent steve patterson. steve, there was a curfew and order that took place at 8:00 p.m. local time but it didn't seem like it at all. a lot of folks were out on the streets riding. >> reporter: yes, curfew is 8:00 p.m., and it is now 4:00 a.m. and there is evidence everywhere that curfew was not followed. you can see behind me the fire that is ongoing right now, this one of several in the city we have seen just driving around town. take a look here. you can see the damage, some of the wreckage. this is fresh, we can tell. we know down the block, that's where most of our crews and correspondents were yesterday. that whole block was on fire.

now we're seeing this. the hope was that this was being boarded up and cleaned up overnight, that hopefully the protesters wouldn't move this way. several residents in the area hoping that as well. but you can see the result. i want to walk and show you a little bit more of what is happening here, the wreckage leftover. this is one of several scenes. we saw cars overturned, glass on the fire, active fires like this one. one of the things you are not seeing is the active protester presence. we know they've been out, obviously. the evidence is everywhere. it appears just driving around the city in certain parts that the majority of the -- like a cluster of protesters, we have not seen that in these early hours. what we are seeing is sort of a remnant. we see a pocket, maybe two or three, just driving around the city in violation of the order, even walking on the street to see the aftermath of what happened. the other thing you won't notice is police presence. we know there were forces

mustering, that the governor, the mayor called on more support here in the city, and they were doing that by way of holding a press conference a little earlier. i want to bring you to that to tell you just about what they're up against. there's been a vast criticism that we have not seen the number of boots on the ground to deal with the situation that has brought scenes like this. i want to bring you to the press conference a few hours ago, and here is what was said by the mayor and the governor. listen to this. this is the largest civilian deployment in minnesota history we have out there today, and quite can dildly right now we do not have the numbers. we cannot arrest people when we are trying to hold ground because of the sheer size and wanton violence coming out there. >> there is no honor in burning down your city. there is no pride in looting local businesses that have become institutions of a neighborhood. if you care about your community you got to put this to an end.

it needs to stop. >> reporter: you hear that impassioned remarks from the leadership here in minnesota and minneapolis. you can see, again, the scope of the damage. this is just one block. we have seen this, of course, in pockets all over the city. police is one element we have not seen in force. we have seen certain squad cars and pockets of protesters. but obviously it is a city in so much pain and the remnants of that pain kind of out lasting on the streets. it is everywhere. back to you. >> steve, lindsey here. i'm curious because as your photographer is panning in, we are seeing where you are, there's active fire burning behind you. don't see any kind of firefighter presence there. have you seen any firefighters there trying to put out these fires? is it an issue of priority, that there are other bigger fires burning in minneapolis, or is it also that by putting out the fires these firefighters would

be putting their own lives at risk? >> reporter: i think it is both, lindsey. we have heard from leadership that if you have a structure that is not going to burn into other structures which will lead to residential structures, that is something they can isolate and let burn. but, again, you would like to see some sort of -- any official response out here dousing the flames. i mean, again, this is an active fire. flames are, you know, very visible. we don't know how deep this fire goes into the structure, and this is in a residential neighborhood. now, it is isolated on the street where it is, but this is something obviously that could spread without anybody putting protection on it. however, as you said, you know, i think if it is something that is isolated, that they can let burn, they will. it draws attention when they have official sources, they tell me it is something they want to avoid. it is strategic both with police and firefighters, but also i think it is a matter of resources.

there are fires like this that we've seen just driving to this area in pockets all over the city. you got to go to what is critical, what is maybe going to endanger people who are on the street. and then if there is any presence of protester activity, that has to take precedence with the resources that the city currently has, which is not much as we've been understanding all night. back to you. >> steve, i know you are just in that particular area and it is a regtively large city, especia y relatively large city, especially counting in st. paul. has the protest now largely subsided? >> reporter: it would seem that way. we drove through this part of the city to get to the scene. we saw burning, we saw the cars overturned. we did not see a large presence of protesters gathered and assembled as we may have had, you know, the same time the night before. that's not to say though that, you know, there are certain areas we can't see, there are certain areas we can't get to at

this time. as you mentioned, this is a big city. the most activity i can see is an ever-present helicopter off in the distance, two or three of them. i can't tell if they're news helicopters or police helicopters but apparently they're searching for activity. again, clustered together we have not seen it in the early hours this morning, however, it doesn't mean there are not pockets of people. we have seen two or three our for groups that are roaming around in the street. as far as we can tell, no police presence, at least where we have seen in the areas we've been so far. guys, back to you. >> nbc's steve patterson live in minneapolis. steve, stay safe. thank you for your reporting. well, in new york city protests erupted in the big apple including in brooklyn. take a listen. >> hands up! hands up! >> crowds and police officers clashing there.

that's outside where the brooklyn nets basketball team plays, in fact where they practiced. it escalated throughout the night. protesters set fire to an nypd van in another part of brooklyn. you see there an active fire in the van as it is surrounded by a crowd. many of the people in the crowd filming on their cellphones. msnbc's cori coffin is live in times square. what are you learning about the protest this morning? >> reporter: yeah, guys, good morning to you. we have learned at least 50 people have been arrested due to the protests yesterday. day two of protests, following 70 arrests made the night before and several injuries reported on police officers and they report bloody noses, leg injuries, one reports losing a tooth, and several injuries reported on protester side as well. a woman seen on camera being pushed by what appeared to be a police officer. that woman now in the hospital this morning.

two legislators report they came out to help keep the peace in the crowd and they were puppepp sprayed. corey johnson tweeted out, i'm so angry and frustrated at what happened in brooklyn tonight. we knew new yorkers needed to protest. we knew they needed to voice their anger and pain. how did we go from a peaceful fire to what happened tonight? we failed to escalate. the nypd should not be pepper spraying legislators. it was a failure of leadership. reports that police were able to push them back, but they set the empty police van on fire. that was in brooklyn. over in manhattan hundreds more filled foley square. of course, masks and social distancing not the priority for the first time in new york city in months. another rally is expected on saturday, guys.

that will be at the staten island location where eric garner died from a police choke hold six years ago. that will be led by reverend al sharpton, of course, the founder of national action network and msnbc host. that happened some six years ago. what he said whe rallying cry for protesters and here six years later. >> yes, his mom has been present, was present at least at the union square protest yesterday. hey, kori, you have been reporting live from times square for us every weekend in recent weeks starting the pandemic. i am seeing behind you barricades. i have not noticed that before behind you in your live shots. what are you seeing in times square? are the barricades a result of the protests we've been seeing throughout the city? do you see a greater police presence in times square? >> reporter: you know what? we have seen more barricades out here this morning. i don't know if it is a result of protests. i know protesters moved

throughout manhattan and we have seen quite a bit police activity earlier this morning. honestly, it is about the same here in times square as what we've seen over the last several months, lights and sirens going throughout the streets and officers standing on different corners letting people know they are here. but, thankfully, guys, in times square at this early hour things are peaceful. it sounds like a lot of the police presence are in different areas that were harder hit by protests. >> cori coffin joining us live from times square. thanks, cori. joining us is rashad robinson, president of the racial justice organization color of change. rashad, thank you for your time this morning. first, we want to ask your reaction to the death of george floyd this week and also the protests that we've been seeing, some of the video we've been showing of some of the rioting taking place. >> you know, as someone who's in this work, someone who is a black man, who lives in the world, you know, seeing that

video was incredibly painful. it was also just an ongoing reminder of how much the system continues to operate the way it was designed to operate, all of the ways in which police officers who are not held accountable, police officers who are given the ability to treat communities as enemy combatants and a system that does not move to justice quickly unless we have to each and every time build a level of power, of campaign, of pushing to demand it. the fact that a journalist from cnn was arrested before the police officer was arrested is a sign of just how the system over and over again aligns itself to protect police. so, you know, what we are seeing, all of the pain we are seeing, all of the pain we have been seeing for years and years,

for generations upon generations, and all of the ways in which the system fails to bring justice time and time again, it is just incredibly painful. you know, i continue to be sort of at a lack of words for a person whose work it is to mobilize people and to direct people towards the most strategic actions we can take for policy reforms, but recognizing time and time again we run up against policymakers, against police unions, against all of those who are supposed to work to bring about change who believe that they don't actually have to do anything, that they don't actually have to make systems operate differently, that they don't have to hold police accountable and move towards the type of systemic change that makes sure that police have to play by the same rules as everyone else. now we are seeing what is happening in, you know, cities around the country and in the

city where i live and the city that i love. >> yes, and i want you to pick up right there because as we take a look once again at all of the images that we have -- and there have been many, many protests all across the country. it is all continuing in portland even at this hour. the video that we see, it is not necessarily about george floyd, is it? this is years, decades, 400 years of oppression, isn't it? >> it is 400 years of oppression spilling out. it is all of the ways in this current moment where we are not -- we have been experiencing being sort of trapped away from each other, trapped in our homes, and it is not simply about the coronavirus. it is rooted in all of the racial injustice that is connected to that, the virus of bad decisions that preceded corona and the virus of bad decision that followed it, the

under investment and disinvestment in our communities. black communities are not vulnerable. black communities have been under attack. we have been targeted. we have been exploited. far too often we talk about the systems that have hurt us in very passive voices and we talk about black people in active voices. so we say things like black people are less likely to get loans from banks when we know time and time again that banks are less likely to give loans -- >> it is not just black people on the streets, we should point out, protesting. >> absolutely. >> okay. >> and no movement for social change only included those who have been oppressed. we know every movement that has brought about change has included allies and those that are standing up. we also know that the impact of police on communities around the country has not just been felt by black people, but we know that black people have a very unique experience in this country since being brought here, you know, over 400 years ago and know that the ways in which the system constantly

realigns to keep its literal and figurative knee on our necks is clear. but, you know, time and time again when we've pushed for justice and we've pushed for reform, as a person who's, you know, testified in front of commissions, who has gone to the white house and sat across from leaders of the police union, who have sort of sat there obtuse and said things like, all of this talk about racial profiling is new to us. when we hear time and time again -- >> they made all of the talk about colin kaepernick taking a knee and saying, it is not the way to protest. now they're saying this is not the way to protest. rashad robinson, thank you so much. appreciate it. >> thank you for having me. msnbc ali velshi will be live on the ground in minneapolis coming up at 8:00 a.m. eastern time this morning. so what about the other officers? what legal consequences will they face for not stopping what was happening right there to

george floyd? some answers next. plus, what former president obama is saying about the outrage and the anguish, that's later.

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♪ welcome back this morning. as we take a look around the nation, protests have been erupting in cities across the country. brooklyn, atlanta, los angeles, louisville where they are protesting the killing of breonna taylor. cities not pictured, phoenix where tear gas was deployed overnight. denver. oakland. sacramento. san jose. the list goes on. >> some stories from the cities you are looking at. top left corner, louisville, kentucky, second night of protests. a reporter on scene was among those fired upon by police officers with what she believed were rubber bullets. the press coming under fire yet again. in atlanta, they raided some well-known malls including

phipps plaza and lenox mall in the city, in buckhead in particular. the protests thereon goi ongoin quite some time. a very angry mayor went on tv and said, "go home," telling people, "this is not us." ugly scenes all over the country. >> the family of george floyd and their attorney calling for first degree murder charges against fired minneapolis police officer derek chauvin. >> he was charged with third degree murder and second degree manslaughter in the death of floyd. interesting because hours later his wife released a statement announcing she planned to file for divorce against the former cop and said she stands with floyd's family. joining us right now is a criminal defense attorney. thank you for being with us. talk about the differences between first degree murder and third degree murder. many protesters out there don't know the details who are saying, why is it not first degree

murder? >> you know, first degree murder, any crime that requires an element of intent is extremely, extremely hard to prove. of course, people are screaming about why this individual was not charged with a higher degree because, of course, he intended to dig his knee into george floyd's neck. of course, he intentionally ignored his pleas for air. of course, he intentionally ignored all of the bystanders pleas to please release your knee from this man's neck. of course, none of this is by accident and that's what people are saying and, of course, it is understandable. however, you have to prove all of those things that he intended to do was for the sole purpose of killing somebody. that is extremely hard because it means you have to understand what that person was thinking at the time the murder was caused. not only that, first degree murder in minnesota also requires a premeditation finding. so how did he plan to execute

this killing? that would be difficult. with regards to what he was charged with, a third degree murder, there is no showing required for intent or premeditation. so that makes it a lot easier for the prosecutors to establish. now, do i think that they could come back with maybe a higher degree like second degree murder? sure. the d.a. did say that they were going to examine more evidence that comes in at the time, so they did that before with the knorr case, if you remember, he was charged with the killing of a woman. they charged him with third degree and then added the second degree. it still may come. i think what is disappointed is the fact other officers were not charged. >> let's talk about that. we know that floyd's family is demanding those officers be charged. we saw a newly released video from a different angle where three officers were holding

floyd's legs down. another officer was off to the side who i believe is still employed with p.d. because in total four officers were charged but five officers were on scene at least. could we see charges for the other officers and what would those charges be? >> well, we should certainly charge them with something, and i say that because that would send a very loud message to the law enforcement community that you can no longer just watch your colleague doing something that's criminal and act as if you aren't responsible. you are just as responsible. in fact, you are worse. so for these co-conspirators, these individuals who could have saved -- george could be alive today had someone intervened and they didn't, and that is a problem. now, just imagine if there was no recording, imagine there was no recording, we wouldn't know george floyd at all. we wouldn't be having this conversation. in fact, there would be a report that would justify his killing

and no one would have said a thing. that is horrendous. >> i mean hours after it happened, the minneapolis police department released a statement on camera saying that he had a medical issue and died, as if there was no videotape. >> exactly. exactly. and there was, and that is why we're having this conversation now and that is why the d.a. needs to make an example of these other officers who stood around and could have saved this man's life. so they do have a duty to assist. they did have a duty to assist. they're first responders. they saw someone who was physically harmed, the least they could have done was get medical personnel on the scene to help this man and we wouldn't be having this conversation about another black, unarmed man killed by police brutality. but they need to make an example of them. what they could possibly charge them with is that third degree murder along with what chauvin was charged with because, again, there's no intent element,

there's no premed situation elemensituation -- premeditation element. it could be a petty misdemeanor for violating their duty to assist. >> our reporting shows three officers on the ground with floyd and a fourth standing nearby. let's listen to something else the county attorney, mike freeman, said yesterday. >> normally these cases can take nine months to a year. we have to charge these cases very carefully because we have a difficult burden to prove. >> let's talk about the speed in which this happened. there has been so much criticism. we heard earlier in our show a cnn reporter arrested before derek chauvin was, he was just reporting on a scene. tell me about the length of time between the incident on memorial day and derek chauvin's arrest. >> i have a problem with mike freeman. one, the press conference i thought was really, really unprofessional and very

premature. when you have a press conference, that implies you actually have information to give and people were expecting charges. and then less than 24 hours later, here are some charges, right? for him to say that this was the quickest that they've ever had an indictment for an officer, sir, we have actually made you do that. we have to burn the city down for you to actually charge someone with something. with regards to it takes a long time for officers to get indicted because, you know, they're given the benefit of the doubt, their actions are always given the benefit of the doubt, what was the excuse for ahmaud arbery's killers? it took two months to get them indicted and arrested and they weren't even officers, exactly. so this whole notion of, you know, we have to take our time, we have to look at all of the evidence, yes, of course. but we're not trying to convict at the highest level at this stage right now. what we're trying to do is establish probable cause that a crime was believe to have

occurred, and that was the case just by watching the video. so people were outraged in that this d.a. saw the exact same thing the world saw and took forever to bring something to court or at least have something filed officially because there was probable cause. they miget that threshold. people are so sick of darmt a.an it comes to police officers being the defense attorney rather than prosecuting attorney. >> i thought it was insane when there was more probable cause that the cmn reporter committed a crime and hence had to go in handcuffs before any of the cops caught on video committed a crime by probable cause. we have to leave it there. thank you. >> thanks, yodite. the method used to restrain george floyd has a history of deadly consequences. >> in fact, the justice department issued a warning about it 15 years ago. the question this morning, why aren't police officers apparently getting the message? e

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♪ welcome back, everyone. we're back with the breaking news. a night of unrest in more than a dozen cities across the country. >> police used flash grenades and tear gas on protesters as tensions rose in several cities. protesters outside the white house last night led to a lockdown of the white house, and that included locking in members of the white house press corps inside. we are going to hear from correspondent monica alba in a few minutes. more about that situation. earlier in the day -- go ahead, kendis. >> a kneeling protest, a police officer videotaped during the arrest kneeling on the neck of george floyd moments before floyd passed away. prosecutors say the officer who had his knee on floyd's neck for just over eight minutes, 8 minutes and 46 seconds in fact, as floyd first pleaded

that he couldn't breathe and then became unresponsive, held in a restraint especially dangerous. >> as nbc justice correspondent pete williams reports it is far from the first time it has had deadly consequences. >> reporter: it is such disturbing video, george floyd handcuffed, lying on his stomach with a police officer's knee on his neck for nearly nine minutes as he begs for breath. >> i can't breathe. >> reporter: but it is not the first time a minneapolis police officer has used a widely-criticized tactic that can turn fatal. minneapolis paid $3 million in 2013 to settle a lawsuit in the case of david smith who died after police pin i hned him fac down with an officer's knee on his back. the family's lawyer robert bennet told the minneapolis station kare that it is a killing mechanism. >> it is no different than strangling anyone. >> reporter: baltimore paid a million dollars to settle a lawsuit brought by the relatives

of tyrone west, who died after a traffic stop, laid him on the ground and sat on him. an independent autopsy said he suffocated. about half a million times a year police restrain subjects they arrest putting them face down. many departments discourage or ban putting pressure on the back or neck in that position. 25 years ago a justice department bulletin warned that the technique can cause sudden death. it said a person lying on his stomach has trouble breathing when pressure is applied to his back. as soon as the person is handcuffed, get him off his stomach. most police departments say once subjects are handcuffed they should be rolled over or allowed to sit or stand. experts on policing universally condemn what happened in minneapolis. >> there has not been one person i talked to who doesn't see it the same way. the police officer and those there that day, they failed george floyd. >> really so difficult to watch that video there, when it first

came out and especially now. that was nbc's pete williams reporting. up next, new reaction on the officer now charged with manslaughter with a former officer who wrote the book on police brutality. these folks don't have time to go to the post office

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♪ -- or you will be subject to arrest. >> breaking news and scenes from overnight. this is in brooklyn, new york, where police clashed with

protesters who were out there protesting the death of george floyd some five days after his death and just hours after the arrest of one of the cops responsible for it. there were some arrests that were announced in brooklyn overnight. there were some ugly incidents captured on camera as well. this was just one of several dozen cities that had protests. >> yes, mayor bill de blasio tweeting, "we have a long night ahead of us, brooklyn." at least one local city council member condemning police there for pushing back people who were protesting. >> joining us now former police officer and author of "police brutality matters." joe ested. also with us analyst danny cevallos. joe, let's start with you, you are a former officer. what is your reaction to chauvin placing his knee on george floyd's neck? can this possibly be part of police training? >> no, not at all.

thank you for having me. good morning. >> good morning. >> i graduated from three different law enforcement training academies and one international training academy, which i had to go over to afghanistan, to build policy on the use of force. you are told time and time again, do not put your knee on the head and neck when applying force. it is known, history has shown us that it is known to cause death or serious body injury. to see exactly what he is not trained to do and actually you get the outcome that you -- we have here today. it doesn't make any sense. he should be held fully accountable, arrested and put in prison for a long time. he has made it very hard for every law enforcement that goes out and does the job correctly like they're supposed to. this is sad. this is just a tremendous disappointment. >> and so many police chiefs from all across the country have said also this is not part of the training, but yet it has

been fairly quiet out there among law enforcement in minneapolis. you know, the former officer chauvin has been charged with third degree murder, second degree manslaughter after he used one of those restraints. you take a look at that video, we watched it. you are the defense attorney. could there be any possible defense to that? >> normally with police brutality cases what we see in the defense strategy is generating some kinds of facts that put an officer in some kind of fear for that officer's safety. that's going to be very difficult to generate in a case like this where the only available video seems to show a handcuffed victim and/or a victim on the ground, face down with a knee on the back of his neck. it is going to be very difficult to generate that kind of reasonable fear for the officer's safety that would warrant a hold like this, this kind of restraint that has stuff a serious threat, be it

positional asphyxiation or choking or damaging the wind pipe. so that's going to be a challenge. so in defense of these cases you have to try to generate some facts that make what the officer did reasonable, and although some folks say juries tend to give officers the benefit of the doubt they still have to generate some justification for the use of force. >> joe, let's talk about the other officers. one of the other officers after a certain period of time said, "should we roll him on his side," chauvin said, "no, staying point where we've got him, i'm worried about excitable delirium." lane says, "that's why we have him on his stomach." continuing on with the complaint, it goes on to say that one of the officers checked floyd's right wrist for a pulse and said, i couldn't find one. none of the officers moved from their positions. what should they have done in this situation?

>> the situation, what all of the officers should have done is stopped. the officer who had his knee on his neck, your job is to protect life, to preserve life. now, you see another officer doing something, it doesn't stop, the protection doesn't stop when another officer is the suspect. they should have just stopped him from actually putting his knee -- take your knee off him, move, take your hand and push him on the chest, push him off, get off of him. he should never have had his knee on his neck, that's what they should have done. >> denny, what charges could these other charges be facing? >> that is probably the most challenging issue for prosecutors. it is an easier case against the officer who had his knee on the neck, and you have to realize that police officers are different than ordinary citizens who are perfectly privileged to walk away from someone in distress. police officers have a legal duty to help others who are in distress, and so if you have

this situation where they've creat created him on the ground, face down, they see the knee on the neck and it is there, the key fact is going to be that it is there for seven to eight minutes. it is not just a moment area thing one of the other officers could have missed. they all must have seen it. they all must have been aware it was happening, and they had to make a choice to either let this brother officer continue to apply this restraint or just do whatever else they were doing, restrain the legs or make -- >> it is kind of -- because minneapolis passed a law that said if you get a sense an officer is doing something that could harm a suspect, you have to step in. so it is kind of tricky, i guess, in their mindset whether or not they thought it was going to be harmful or deadly or lethal to this guy. >> well, joe will tell you, i mean there is a -- among brother and sister officers, there is a lot of pressure, a lot of internal pressure. i mean that's a difficult place to be in, when you see a brother

or sister officer doing something that they aren't supposed to do. sometimes there's hesitation. the challenge here for this defendant and possible additional defendants is that this was going on for seven to eight minutes. they had a lot of time to make that decision and a lot of time to determine that they did have a legal duty to intervene, as you said. >> a lot of time to raise your hand and say, "i'm not cool with this." >> particularly after not finding a pulse. >> yeah. we have to leave it there, gentlemen. joe, we'll have you guys back at one point. thank you so much, joe ested and danny cevallos. thank you. in the wake of the case, former president barack obama is calling for a new normal where bigotry no longer exists. >> but with trump at the head of the country, is it impossible to dream?

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el. the anguish on display across the country over george

floyd's death is now being shared by former president barack obama. he released a statement reading in park, quote, it falls on all of us regard also of our race or station, including the majority of men and women in law enforcement who take pride in doing their tough job the right way every day to work together, to create a new normal in which the legacy of bigotry and unequal treatment no longer infects our institutions or our hearts. >> joining us right now, michael star hopkins, founding partner of northern strar strategies. michael, what's your reaction there to that statement? a lot of people were saying, we want to have obama go there to minneapolis and speak. but he put out that statement. quite a contrast to the statement that president trump did yesterday about the violence. nothing. >> that's what leadership looks like. that's what a president should

sound like. in times of trial and tribulation, in times of national fear, we want someone that will lower the temperature, not raise it like president trump did with his comments about looters and shooting or his comments in charlottesville or pretty much anytime he opens his mouth. >> let's talk more about the president's pons. president trump that is. yesterday in his press conference of sorts, he did not mention what's going on in minneapolis or around the country. it wasn't until he spoke with reporters after the fact. what does he need to do to bring americans together right now and do you think that that is inline with his typical behavior or way of handling things? >> unfortunately, i don't think there is anything the president can do to bring americans together again.

he has created a situation where people are angry and scared and police believe journalists are our enemy. he's festered this belief that african-americans are a threat. we've seen normally in tragedies, a president will go in front of the country and call on our better angels. we saw that with president obama after the shooting in charleston. we saw that with mr. clinton after the bombing in oklahoma city. we saw it with george w. bush after 9/11. that's what a president does. i don't think this president is capable of on doing that. >> i couldn't help but note that the president did do a couple of tweets about protests in the month of march. there is one where he said these are very good people. but they are angry. they want their lives back again safely. and then there's one where he said these are thugs and they are dishonoring the memory of george floyd. of course, which one was -- what's the difference between

two of them? >> well, one of them he wrote and one of them his staff wrote. the one where he called thugs. >> i'll tell you the difference, actually. the first one was referring to the protesters in michigan where he called them good people who are angry and they want their lives back safely. >> yeah. i mean, this idea that he actually wants things to go better, i think, is just a farce. he has fed into this. black people can't go anywhere at this point. we can't jog. we can't go to movie theaters. what you're seeing now is people's frustrations boiling over. people are going to burn things down. people are going to take to the streets because at some point we have to be heard. what you're seeing now is people demanding to be heard. and i think given the coverage, americans are listening. >> michael star hopkins, thank

you so much. >> appreciate it. at the top of the hour, we're live in new york and at the white house. there were plenty of protests that started during the day and they grew as the night went on. all of this in the wake of the death of george floyd. this in e death of george floyd.