George Floyd protests: Trump to speak on race and national unity, Internet wonders if it's his ‘resignation speech’
Amid protests over the death of George Floyd, reports say White House officials are planning for President Donald Trump to address the nation "on issues related to race and national unity".
In an interview with CNN, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson and a senior administration official said "it was under serious consideration". He added, "I believe you're going to be hearing from the President this week on this topic in some detail. And I would ask you maybe to reserve judgment until after that time."
A source close to the White House said there has been an optimistic shift in the last two days. "Allies and advisers believe that the lack of violence over the weekend allows the President to double down on his 'law and order' message, painting the relative calm as a direct result of his push for 'domination' in the streets," the source said, according to CNN.
As soon as the news surfaced on social media, it led to a furor. It started with a tweet from basketball coach Steve Karr that read, "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! White House is considering a Trump speech to the nation on race and unity," and soon collected over 7,800 retweets and 68,000 likes.
Soon, people started tweeting with sarcastic comments. "Is this your way of telling him to shut up and dribble?" one said and another wrote, "Guaranteed he will mention how much he’s done for the black community. That he’s the least racist person he knows." Another joked, "This is going to be HILARIOUS. They should split-screen Obama, the Central Park 5, and Maxine Waters watching it and laughing."
Many still had hope that it would be a step towards being better. "Hopefully it will be a good uniting speech. He says a lot of s**t but we have to give him an alleyway to being better. If the speech does happen be honest and open to hearing him say good positive things and hold him accountable for bad things he says," one tweet read. But most people can't stop cracking wisecracks on how it will be a disaster. "It will be the greatest speech in the history of speeches, believe me. A lot of people are saying that," read one sarcastic tweet while another said, "Dude! I want them to let him do it. It'll be a disaster, guaranteed."
One went on to say, "Maybe it’s his resignation speech, coach!" and another posted, "Trump's abject inability to 'rise to the moment' has me egging on the pro-speech faction. They represent the triumph of hope over experience in a weird alternate universe. Trump's inevitable failure will further weaken him, and rattle him. Bring it!"