Biden deputy campaign manager Kate Bedingfield on Sunday fact-checked Trump campaign adviser Lara Trump’s assertion that the Democratic presidential nominee failed to condemn the violence that erupted during protests in the wake of George Floyd’s death soon enough.
During an interview on “Fox News Sunday,” Trump was asked whether the President’s re-election campaign thinks that this violence in the streets plays to the President’s political advantage.
After acknowledging “that is never something that any of us would want to see happen,” Trump claimed that Biden took three months to condemn the unrests happening at protests.
“I think, unfortunately, what’s really bad, specifically for Joe Biden and the Biden campaign because — Chris, you might remember that it took him about three months to finally come out and condemn this violence and say that people should stop doing it,” Trump said.
Trump then bolstered the President’s claim that there are “federal resources available to every mayor and every city across this country” before once again slamming Biden for supposedly taking “a bit too long” to condemn violence during protests.
“I think it’s probably because he knows that that is his base and he doesn’t want to upset these people,” Trump said.
Right after Trump’s interview aired, Bedingfield was interviewed on “Fox News Sunday” as well where she initially bypassed anchor Chris Wallace’s question on Biden’s upcoming campaign trip and proceeded to fact-check Trump’s claim instead.
“First of all, she said that Vice President Biden did not quickly condemn the violence around these protests — that’s absolutely not true,” Bedingfield said. “He came out right after George Floyd was killed back in May and said there’s no place for violence. He said it forcefully again this week. So that’s simply not true.”
Bedingfield added that “a President’s words matter” before criticizing the President for getting the country into a “state of chaos” due to his failure on responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Hours after Bedingfield’s interview on “Fox News Sunday,” Biden issued a statement condemning violence after one person was fatally shot amid clashes between Trump supporters and Black Lives Matter protesters in Portland, Oregon.
NEW from Joe Biden: "I condemn violence of every kind by anyone, whether on the left or the right. And I challenge Donald Trump to do the same." pic.twitter.com/TgK3pnKCq2
— Matt Viser (@mviser) August 30, 2020
In late May during protests in the wake of Floyd’s death, Biden issued a statement saying that although protesting police brutality is “right and necessary,” the unrest that ensued such as “burning down communities and needless destruction is not.”
“Violence that endangers lives is not. Violence that guts and shutters businesses that serve the community is not,” Biden wrote. “The act of protesting should never be allowed to overshadow the reason we protest. It should not drive people away from the just cause that protest is meant to advance.”
At the time Biden’s statement was issued, Trump had not directly addressed Floyd’s death, but slammed Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey instead in a tweet.
The National Guard has been released in Minneapolis to do the job that the Democrat Mayor couldn’t do. Should have been used 2 days ago & there would not have been damage & Police Headquarters would not have been taken over & ruined. Great job by the National Guard. No games!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 31, 2020
Watch Lara Trump’s and Bedingfield’s remarks below:
