Joe Biden Rebukes Donald Trump Over Response to George Floyd Killing, Says This is 'No Time To Encourage Violence'

Former Vice President Joe Biden rebuked President Donald Trump Friday for his inflammatory remarks after the death of unarmed black man George Floyd, saying it was "no time for incendiary tweets" and "no time to encourage violence."

Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential candidate, named George Floyd in his news conference, as well as Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor, two other victims whose deaths have sparked national outrage. He asked Americans who are not black what they would do if their children were in danger every time they left the house.

"Imagine if every time your husband or son, wife or daughter, left the house, you feared for their safety from bad actors and bad police," Biden said. "Imagine if you had to have that talk with your child about not asserting their rights—and taking the abuse handed out to them—just so they could make it home."

Biden called for unity, saying it "will require those of us who sit in positions of influence to finally deal with the abuse of power" because "the pain is too immense for one community to bear alone."

The response comes after Trump's tweet in recent late-night hours that "these THUGS are dishonoring the memory of George Floyd, and I won't let that happen," before saying that the military was on the way. "Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts," he tweeted.

In a rare walk-back Friday, Trump clarified his statements to say he meant that looting leads to shooting. The term originates from a Miami police chief who in 1967 said his cops would have shotguns and dogs in the black neighborhoods ready to shoot when the looting starts.

Protests continued across the country over Floyd's death Friday, as well as in Minnesota, which also saw vandalism and fires set. Black activists in Minneapolis said they did not condemn the destruction but said they understood it because of how much the community has suffered without justice.

Derek Chauvin, the Minneapolis police officer who was fired after he put his knee into Floyd's back for over eight minutes until he died, was held in custody Friday and faces charges of third-degree murder and manslaughter, Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman announced.

The three other officers who were present when Floyd was killed have not been charged.

Addressing law enforcement, Biden also said "we need real police reform that holds all cops up to the high standards that so many of them actually meet, that holds bad cops accountable."