Trump Comments on 'Heart-Breaking' Arbery Case
President Donald Trump has voiced his sympathy for the family of Ahmaud Arbery, who was killed in Georgia in February in a case that has drawn worldwide attention.
On Thursday, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation announced that it had arrested Gregory McMichael, 64, and his 34-year-old son, Travis McMichael, and charged them with aggravated assault and the murder of Arbery.
Arbery, 25, was jogging in Brunswick, Georgia, when the McMichaels confronted him. Police have alleged that Travis McMichael shot and killed Arbery. Gregory McMichael has said he and his son suspected Arbery was linked to burglaries in the area, and claimed Arbery attacked them.
Cell phone video of Arbery being shot has made the case a flashpoint for race relations.
Ivanka Trump, the president’s daughter and a White House adviser, has tweeted her concern that the arrest came so long after Arbery was killed.
Thank you @GovKemp for stepping in and taking action as truth, answers and justice are sought.
— Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) May 8, 2020
During a telephone interview Friday on “Fox & Friends,” Trump called the case a “very disturbing situation”.
“So I saw the tape and it’s very, very disturbing, the tape,” Trump said, referring to the cell phone video that showed Arbery being shot.
“I got to see it. It’s very disturbing. I looked at a picture of that young man. He was in a tuxedo, and in fact you put it up. And I will say that that looks like a really good, young guy,” Trump said.
Trump expressed his sympathy for Arbery’s family.
“And it looks very — it’s a very disturbing situation to me, and I just — you know, my heart goes out to the parents and the family and the friends, but yet we have to take it,” Trump said.
Trump voiced his belief that Republican Gov. Brian Kemp of Georgia would ensure that justice is done.
“Law enforcement’s going to look at it and have a good governor in the state and he’s going to — a very good governor actually, and he’s going to be looking at it very strongly and he’s going to do what’s right, but it’s a heartbreaking thing.
“That was very rough. Rough stuff,” Trump said.
Trump was asked how to avoid having the case become a racial flashpoint.
In 10 words, he summed up the situation.
“Jjustice getting done is the thing that solves that problem,” he said, according to Fox News. “And again it’s in the hands of the governor, and I’m sure he’ll do the right thing.”Fox News.
Trump cautioned against a rush to judgment.
“You know, it could be something that we didn’t see on tape. There could be a lot — you know, if you saw things went off tape and then back on tape,” he said, according to The Washington Post.
Trump closed by saying he had faith in Georgia authorities, according to Yahoo News.
“They have very good law enforcement in the state of Georgia, and I’m sure they’re going to come up with exactly what happened,” he said. “It’s a sad thing, very sad thing. Hate to see that.”
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