[ORDER SOLUTION] Trump Versus Biden
Both articles relate to the Black Lives Matter protest and the two probable candidates for president of the United States, Donald Trump and Joe Biden. It should come as no surprise to anyone who has lived in America during the past few years that the candidates have differing views on the subject. Read the articles objectively and examine your views of both candidates.
Politics are a lot like religion; both are based on faith. It is difficult for one to examine his or her faith, but it is a necessary part of intellectual growth. It is sometimes difficult to accept other people’s opinions when they differ radically from your own. One problem with society is it has been become more difficult for individuals to examine beliefs that do not conform to their own beliefs. This class requires that you not allow yourself to be restricted by these types of social norms.
When you have finished the process of active reading, answer the following question:
Which candidate, Trump or Biden, is more likely to create the type of America in which you would like to live? Explain why you choose one candidate over the other.
Your forum post is due by Saturday, 06/27. You may comment on other posts as often as you wish.
Article #1
Trump Prepares Order to Protect Monuments
The president is readying an executive order that would reinforce existing federal law criminalizing the destruction of monuments of those who served in the military.
By Lisa Hagen, Reporter?June 23, 2020, at 1:32 p.m.
U.S. News & World Report
Trump Prepares Order to Protect Monuments
More
President Donald Trump speaks with reporters before departing on Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House, Tuesday, June 23, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
President Donald Trump told reporters on Tuesday, Numerous people are in jail and going to jail today. Were looking at long-term sentences for these vandals and hoodlums and anarchists and agitators.”(ALEX BRANDON/AP)
PRESIDENT Donald Trump said Tuesday he wants to levy harsher punishments against people who deface or destroy monuments as he doubles down on his condemnation of protests against police brutality and systemic racism in Washington and around the country.
Before departing for Arizona to attend a campaign event, Trump lashed out at protesters, whom he dubbed “anarchists” and “hoodlums,” who sought to topple the statue of former President Andrew Jackson in Lafayette Park on Monday night. Confrontations escalated as police officers in riot gear sought to clear encampments around the park and areas near the White House.
D.C. Police Chief Peter Newsham called the tents a “potential safety hazard” and confirmed to The Washington Post that officers made two arrests and used pepper spray to move protesters. In response to the confrontation on Monday night, Trump said he’s readying an executive order that will strengthen existing federal law that criminalizes the destruction of monuments.
“Numerous people are in jail and going to jail today. We’re looking at long-term sentences for these vandals and hoodlums and anarchists and agitators,” Trump told reporters Tuesday.
“Call them whatever you want. Some people don’t like that language, but that’s what they are. They’re bad people. They don’t love our country. And they’re not taking down our monuments,” he added.
Trump didn’t offer any details about the executive order but said it would “reinforce what’s already there but in a uniform way.” In 2003, Congress passed the Veterans’ Memorial Preservation Act, which criminalizes the destruction of monuments or statues “on public property commemorating the service of any person or persons in the armed forces.” Violators of the law can face up to 10 years in prison.
The president also reiterated his offer to state governments that he can direct federal troops and resources to help quell unrest.
MORE:
Virginia Confederate Statue Removed ]
The events that unfolded Monday night in Washington mirrored a nationwide push by protesters to tear down statues paying homage to the Confederacy and renewed interest in removing tributes to controversial figures like Christopher Columbus. But the push has also broadened to figures like Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, Francis Scott Key and Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant monuments to all of whom have been destroyed or defaced in recent weeks.
Since the death of George Floyd, there’s been a larger cultural shift as large corporations seek to rename brands viewed as racist. NASCAR also recently banned the Confederate flag at its events and races.
Article #2
Biden Speaks of Racial ‘Open Wound,’ Contrasting With Trump
Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, responded to the police killing of a black man in Minnesota with an empathetic contrast to President Donald Trump, who has suggested authorities could respond with violence to racially charged protests around the country.
By Associated Press, Wire Service Content?May 30, 2020, at 2:38 a.m.
The Associated Press
FILE – In this March 10, 2020, file photo Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden speaks to members of the press at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. Biden said Friday, May 29, that the “open wound of systemic racism was behind the police killing of a handcuffed black man in Minnesota, and swiped at President Donald Trump for inciting violence, without mentioning him by name. “We are a country with an open wound. None of us can turn away, Biden in a brief online address. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File) THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
BY WILL WEISSERT AND KAT STAFFORD, Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) Joe Biden lamented the open wound of the nation’s systemic racism on Friday as he responded to the police killing of a black man in Minnesota. He drew an implicit contrast with President Donald Trump, who has suggested authorities could respond with violence to the protests that followed George Floyds death.
The original sin of this country still stains our nation today, Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, said in remarks broadcast from his home in Wilmington, Delaware. “Its time for us to take a hard look at uncomfortable truths.
Biden announced his bid for the presidency last year arguing hes uniquely positioned to unite a deeply divided country. He pointed to Trumps response to a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, as unworthy of Americas people and values.
As the country endures another spasm of racial unrest, the central premise of Bidens campaign is being tested. Biden is responding by positioning himself as an empathetic counter to Trump, who often struggles to convey emotion or connect on a personal level during moments of crisis.
Biden said he spoke with Floyds family and demanded justice for his death while calling for real police reform that holds all cops up to the high standards that so many of them actually meet. The president later said that he, too, had spoken with Floyd’s family and called them terrific people.
Trump initially condemned police actions in Floyds death but later agitated the unrest by tweeting that protesters could be met with violent police resistance. He threatened to take action to bring Minneapolis under control, called violent protesters outraged by the killing thugs and revived a civil-rights-era phrase fraught with racist overtones.
When the looting starts, the shooting starts, Trump wrote in a tweet that was flagged by Twitter as violating rules against glorifying violence. The White House said the president did not glorify violence. He clearly condemned it.
By Friday afternoon, Trump sought to acknowledge the shocking circumstances of Floyds death while commending law enforcement.
He was in tremendous pain, obviously, and couldnt breathe, the president said of Floyd. It was a very, very sad thing for me to see it. We also know that most policemen, you see the great job they do.”
Biden, without mentioning Trump by name, made clear he would approach the presidency differently.
This is no time for incendiary tweets. This is no time to encourage violence, Biden said. This is a national crisis, and we need real leadership right now. Leadership that will bring everyone to the table so we can take measures to root out systemic racism.
Later appearing on PBS, Biden pointed more openly at Trump: I think this president has stoked racism.
Rep. Val Demings, a Florida Democrat considered a potential Biden running mate, criticized Trump’s response.
America is on fire, she said in an interview Friday. And this president is standing there with gasoline. He is dangerous. Hes destructive, hes dangerous and he cant even rise to this occasion.
Amid the outrage, Biden tried to make the rest of the country feel what it was like to be African American in modern U.S. society.
Every day, African Americans go about their lives with constant anxiety and trauma, wondering who will be next, he said, adding, the anger and the frustration and the exhaustion its undeniable.
Biden must go beyond establishing himself as a calming alternative to the president and demonstrate that he will take action that spurs the unity he’s promised. Its a feat he may have to accomplish in a hurry if he wants to inspire African Americans to turn out for him in November.
The task is especially critical after Biden suggested last week that African American voters who were still undecided between him and Trump ain’t black, a comment that some black leaders said were interpreted as taking their votes for granted. Biden quickly said he regretted the comment.
NAACP President Derrick Johnson said he believes the nation is in chaos because of a lack of leadership in the White House. But he said change will only come by putting people in positions of power who will be willing to boldly address the needs of affected communities.
I think the real question is, what are people going to do about it and how are those who are in positions of authority, and those who are seeking positions of authority, how are they going to lay out a plan moving forward? Johnson said. Its about what is the collective will of this society to address the systemic deficits that we all know so well but lack the political will to address.
Moments of acute racial tension have afforded platforms for leadership from presidential candidates in the past. Robert F. Kennedy was seeking the White House in April 1968 and arriving in Indianapolis when he learned that Martin Luther King Jr. had been shot and killed. Kennedy stood on a flatbed truck and spoke about the country having to move past the terrible moments of racial strife comments later credited with preventing unrest.
Kennedy was assassinated two months later.
Black Lives Matter co-founder Alicia Garza said Biden needs to use this moment to connect further with black people and create a more robust black agenda that specifically tackles the need for policing reform and more.
Black people cannot wait for an agenda that speaks to how it is that our lives will change under a new administration, Garza said. We currently have a president who is inciting violence against black communities and yet, on the other hand, we have somebody who wants to lead this country that needs to go further in their plans, proposals and their vision for how to make sure that we deal with the state of emergency that black communities are facing.
It is not enough to engage in politics as usual, Garza added, and expect results, as usual.
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Stafford reported from Detroit. Associated Press writer Alan Fram in Washington contributed to this report.
