WASHINGTON
Nationwide protests following the death of George Floyd are not only an outcry against police brutality but also against Donald Trump’s leadership, according to American experts.
Timothy McCarthy, a professor at Harvard University’s Department of Public Administration, told Anadolu Agency that last week’s killing of an unarmed black man became the latest US crisis, already suffering from coronavirus and the “devastating” Trump presidency.
“Then we have the Trump presidency and our contemporary political crisis, which is not just a crisis of Trump’s authoritarian leadership, and malignant narcissism and chronic incapacity and unwillingness to demonstrate or display any kind of empathy, but a larger political crisis,” he said.
“And then on top of that, you have the recent killings, murders, lynchings of unarmed black people who are jogging or sleeping at home or out on the streets, conducting their daily lives.”
Floyd protests
Floyd, 46, died on May 25 in Minneapolis, Minnesota when police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes. His last words, “I can’t breathe,” became a slogan for worldwide protests.
An independent autopsy Monday found Floyd was killed by “asphyxiation from sustained pressure.”
His death prompted largely peaceful protests, though some have devolved into violence and looting.
Chauvin is facing charges of second-degree murder.
Three other officers at the scene were charged with aiding and abetting murder in the second degree.
