Frankly acknowledging a “tough week” in the United States after anxious days of shootings and racial tensions, President Barack Obama said Saturday that he did not believe the United States was “as divided as some have suggested.”
“There is sorrow, there is anger, there is confusion about next steps,” Obama said during a news conference in Poland. “But there’s unity in recognizing that this is not how we want our communities to operate. This is not who we want to be as Americans.”Speaking for the third time in Poland about the gun violence that’s seized communities in the United States, Obama said the situation didn’t resemble the periods of mass social unrest in the 1960s.“You’re not seeing riots, you’re not seeing police going after people who are protesting peacefully,” he said.But he acknowledged a ramped-up anxiety that’s descended on Americans as they watch seemingly unfettered violence on urban streets.
“Americans of all races and all backgrounds are rightly outraged by the inexcusable attacks on police, whether it’s in Dallas or anywhere else,” Obama said. “That includes protesters, that includes family members who have grave concerns about police misconduct, and they’ve said this is unacceptable. There’s no division there.”Obama didn’t mention any critics by name, but on Friday, presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said racial divisions in the country have “gotten worse, not better.”The President pushed back on that notion, insisting that Americans of all races were disgusted by gun violence. – READ MORE