Justin Trudeau’s 21-second pause after Donald Trump question
Justin Trudeau paused for 21 seconds when asked Tuesday about Donald Trump’s use of tear gas against protesters to make way for a photo opportunity.
During a press conference at Rideau Cottage, the Canadian Prime Minister was asked for comments on the US President’s call for military action against protesters demonstrating police brutality and the killing of George Floyd.
Trudeau, who is usually quick in answering questions, paused and made several false starts before giving his response.
“We all watch in horror and consternation at what is going on in the United States,” he said.
“It is a time to pull people together… but it is a time to listen. It is a time to learn, when injustices continue despite progress over years and decades.”
Trudeau went on to talk about the need to fight racism in Canada.
“It is a time for us as Canadians to recognize that we, too, have our challenges – that black Canadians and racialized Canadians face discrimination as a lived reality every single day,” he said.
On Monday, police forcibly removed several thousands of peaceful protesters from Lafayette Square across the White House ahead of Trump’s visit to St John’s Episcopal Church.
In his speech in the Rose Garden, Trump declared he would be a “law and order president” as tear gas guns were fired in the background.
He said if state governors refuse to deploy the National Guard to “dominate the streets”, he would call on the military to “quickly solve the problem for them”.
Protests have taken place across the US after 46-year-old Floyd died in custody on May 25, when officers responded to a call from a grocery store claiming he had used a forged $20 bill.
A video shows police officer Derek Chauvin kneeling on Floyd’s neck, pinning him down for more than eight minutes, while three other officers watched as Floyd pleaded that he could not breathe.