Mitt Romney opposes Trump by voicing support for anti-racism protesters

Republican Senator Mitt Romney has voiced support for the Black Lives Matter movement, criticizing US President Donald Trump over his racist policy against anti-racism protesters.  

Romney told reporters in the Capitol on Monday that he was outraged over George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis and wanted to stand up and make corrections about the existing prejudice and bias in the United States of America.

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“I state the obvious, which is black lives matter. If there’s injustice, we want to correct that. If there’s prejudice, we want to change that. If there’s bias, we hope to give people a different perspective and we can provide a sense of equality among our people,”  he said.

The senator from Utah said he wanted to change the negative outlook most African American voters had towards the Republican Party.

"My party obviously has an embarrassingly small share of African American votes ... I’d like to see that change,” he said, adding, “But that isn’t what motivated me to stand up and speak. I saw a heinous murder carried out by a person with a badge.”

Romney said he was working with fellow Republican lawmakers to put together police reform legislation.

Romney also made a surprise appearance on Sunday at a rally toward the White House by demonstrators protesting against police brutality.

Asked Sunday why he was marching, Romney replied, “We need to end violence and brutality, and to make sure that people understand that black lives matter.”

Romney’s words draw a sharp contrast with Trump, who in recent days threatened to unleash “vicious dogs” on protesters warning in another tweet that “when the looting starts, the shooting starts” and last week retweeted a video of an interview in which conservative activist Candace Owens says she was sickened that Floyd has been held up as a “martyr” and asserts “he was not a good person.”

Romney wasn't the only lawmaker opposed to Trump's forces crackdown of protesters.

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) on Monday praised Romney’s march Sunday as a “unifying gesture.”

“Good for him. He felt moved to do that. It’s the right of every American, including a United States senator.

Senate Republican Whip John Thune (R-S.D.) said Romney’s show of solidarity with Black Lives Matter protesters was “fine.”

“That’s his prerogative. People have the right to peacefully protest under the First Amendment and I think when we see people protesting in a peaceful way, that’s part of our democracy,” he said.

Thune noted that Romney’s “dad was associated with the issue going back a long ways.”

“I think he feels a real connection to that, through his family for one thing but I think he cares deeply about the issue,” he added.

The use of tear gas on protesters in front of the White House left some GOP senators “aghast,” according to a Republican lawmaker who requested anonymity to discuss the private reaction of colleagues.

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) last week criticized the forceful dispersal of protesters before Trump’s photo op in front of St. John’s Episcopal Church as “painful to watch.”

She said Trump “came across as unsympathetic and as insensitive to the rights of people to peacefully protest.”

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Since the police killing of Floyd on May 25, and after a video footage of Floyd's killing went viral, mass protests have been held in cities across the country, and beyond, on an almost daily basis.

The footage showed former police officer Derek Chauvin kneeling on Floyd's neck for about nine minutes, "executing" him in broad daylight while other officers and bystanders stood witness to the crime.

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