United States President Donald Trump effectively claimed victory over the economic crisis and COVID-19 on Friday as well as major progress against racial inequality, heartily embracing a better-than-expected jobs report in hopes of convincing a discouraged nation he deserves another four years in office.
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In lengthy White House remarks amid sweeping social unrest, a still-rising virus death toll and Depression-level unemployment, the Republican president focused on what he said was improvement in all areas.
He was quick to seize the positive jobs report at a time when his political standing is at one of the weakest points of his presidency less than five months before the general election. Just 2 in 10 voters believe the country is headed in the right direction, a Monmouth University poll found earlier in the week.
The president also addressed the protests, which have calmed in recent days, that followed the death of George Floyd, the black man who died last week when a white police officer knelt for minutes on his neck.
Claiming improvements everywhere, Trump said, "Hopefully George is looking down right now and saying this is a great thing that's happening for our country. ... This is a great, great day in terms of equality."
Trump condemned "what happened last week," said no other president has done as much for black Americans, and declared that an economic rebound was "the greatest thing that can happen for race relations."
Putting words in the dead man's mouth drew quick criticism, including from likely presidential foe Joe Biden, who said it was "despicable." The Trump campaign said any reports saying Trump was contending Floyd would be praising the economic news were "wrong, purposefully misrepresented, and maliciously crafted."
A few blocks away, city workers painted a huge "Black Lives Matter" sign on 16th Street leading to the White House.
Politically, few things matter more to Trump's future than the state of the US economy, which was all but shut down by state governments this spring to prevent greater spread of the deadly coronavirus. Defying health experts, the president has aggressively encouraged states to re-open and has assailed state leaders by name who resist.
At the same time, he's taken an uneven approach to explosive racial tensions in the wake of Floyd's death. As he has in recent days, Trump on Friday offered a sympathetic message to Floyd in one breath and lashed out at protests in his name the next.
Australian Associated Press
