{"id":16396,"date":"2020-06-13T22:22:41","date_gmt":"2020-06-14T03:22:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/?p=16396"},"modified":"2020-06-13T16:26:29","modified_gmt":"2020-06-13T21:26:29","slug":"president-donald-trumps-remarks-during-a-roundtable-on-transition-to-greatness-restoring-rebuilding-renewing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/2020\/06\/13\/president-donald-trumps-remarks-during-a-roundtable-on-transition-to-greatness-restoring-rebuilding-renewing\/","title":{"rendered":"President Donald Trump’s Remarks During a Roundtable on Transition to Greatness: Restoring, Rebuilding, Renewing"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"TheWashington, D.C.<\/strong> – PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Nice place. Wow. I\u2019ve been hearing about this one. Great job. (Laughter.) Great job. Thank you very much for being here. It\u2019s an honor. And very important time in our country. A lot of things are happening. And I think when it all ends up, it\u2019s going to end up very good for everybody.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s an honor to be at Gateway Church with the Attorney General \u2014 our great Attorney General, William Barr. Thank you. (Applause.) And my friend, Ben Carson, who\u2019s done a fantastic job at HUD. Secretary. (Applause.) And a young star, Jerome Adams, General. Where is Jerome? Jerome? (Applause.) Along with a lot of my friends out in the audience.<\/p>\n

\"U.S.<\/a>

U.S. President Donald J. Trump<\/p><\/div>\n

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In fact, a lot of the great political leaders from Texas, I see. Some great, great friends.<\/p>\n

And I want to thank you all for being here: faith leaders; members of law enforcement, so important. We want law and order. We have to have a lot of good things, but we have to have law and order. (Applause.)<\/p>\n

Got to have some strength. You have to have strength. You have to do what you have to do. And you look at a Seattle \u2014 we just came in; we just see over the screen, and we\u2019ve been hearing about it. Bill and I were talking about it: the law and order. Look at what happened in Seattle: They took over a city. A city. A big city \u2014 Seattle. Took a chunk of it \u2014 a big chunk. Can\u2019t happen. That couldn\u2019t happen here, I don\u2019t think, in the state of Texas, could it? (Laughter.) I don\u2019t think so. (Applause.) I don\u2019t think so.<\/p>\n

So I want to thank Pastors Robert Morris and Steve Dulin. They\u2019re great people. (Applause.) Great people with a great reputation. I have to say that. Great reputation. And Gateway Church \u2014 the team has been incredible in hosting us.<\/p>\n

And I\u2019d now like to ask Pastor Morris and Bishop Jackson to lead us in prayer. Thank you.<\/p>\n

PASTOR MORRIS: Thank you.<\/p>\n

Lord, we need you. We need you at this time in our country. And I thank you for our President. I thank you, Lord, for our leaders. I thank you, thank you, thank you.<\/p>\n

I know in the Bible that, when something was emphasized, it was repeated: \u201choly, holy, holy.\u201d Thank you, thank you, thank you, Lord, that we are about to bring tremendous progress to a problem that\u2019s been here for a long time. And I thank you for this administration. And, Lord, we pray your blessings and your guidance today on this meeting, in Jesus name.<\/p>\n

BISHOP JACKSON: Father, we thank you so much for what you\u2019re doing today. You have revealed so many things that are untoward, even evil. But we ask, according to Isaiah 50, verse 4, that you would give us the tongue of the learned that we should know how to speak to the heart of this nation.<\/p>\n

Give us a word in season to Him that\u2019s weary, and waken us morning by morning, God, that we would hear and speak. We have a great, courageous President who\u2019s a problem solver. And let him speak as your mouthpiece and act as your instrument. And we thank you for this time. Amen.<\/p>\n

AUDIENCE: Amen. (Applause.)<\/p>\n

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THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much, Bishop. Thank you. Thank you very much. I want to thank you, Bishop, and thank you very much, Pastor. That\u2019s great. And we\u2019re going to be
\ndiscussing some pretty important things today, I think. It\u2019s all important, but the timing of this is very appropriate. This was set up, actually, a long time ago, but the timing is very appropriate.<\/p>\n

We are here to listen to community and faith leaders \u2014 going to be hearing from a lot of the good ones; some of the great ones, but a lot of the good ones \u2014 and to present our vision of advancing the cause of justice and freedom.<\/p>\n

From day one, I\u2019ve been fighting for the forgotten men and women of America, and I think we\u2019ve been doing a great job of it. We\u2019ve been doing a lot in many other ways, but it gets lost a little bit sometimes. Bishop, you know that. It gets lost. We\u2019ve done so much. And a lot of the things that we\u2019ve done that we\u2019re very proud of gets lost. Like, we got criminal justice reform passed, and they\u2019ve been trying to do it for many years \u2014 (applause) \u2014 and they haven\u2019t been able to do get it passed.<\/p>\n

We secured permanent and record-setting funding for HBCUs. That\u2019s historically black colleges and universities. (Applause.) It\u2019s all done.<\/p>\n

We created tens of thousands of jobs with Opportunity Zones. Tim Scott. And we had a great senator from South Carolina that many of you know. He came with an idea, and I thought it was a great idea, and we got it done. A lot of people said that could never happen, but nobody thought it would be successful like it is. Tens of thousands of jobs and investment in communities where that money wouldn\u2019t go.<\/p>\n

And we achieved the lowest black unemployment in the history of our country, prior to the plague coming in from China. (Applause.) And we\u2019ll get it back again soon. It\u2019ll happen soon. That\u2019ll happen very soon.<\/p>\n

In recent days, there have been vigorous discussion about how to ensure fairness, equality, and justice for all of our people. Unfortunately, there are some trying to stoke division and to push an extreme agenda, which we won\u2019t go for, that will produce only more poverty, more crime, more suffering. This includes radical efforts to defund, dismantle, and disband the police. They want to get rid of the police forces. They actually want to get rid of it. And that\u2019s what they do, and that\u2019s where they go. And you know that, because at the top position, there\u2019s not going to be much leadership; there\u2019s not much leadership left.<\/p>\n

Instead, we have to go the opposite way. We must invest more energy and resources in police training and recruiting and community engagement. We have to respect our police. We have to take care of our police. They\u2019re protecting us. And if they\u2019re allowed to do their job, they\u2019ll do a great job. And you always have a bad apple, no matter where you go. You have bad apples. And there are not too many of them. And I can tell you there are not too many of them in the police department. We all know a lot of members of the police.<\/p>\n

I was listening today; a friend of mine was on. A very important person said some of the best people he\u2019s ever met are policemen, law enforcement people. And they\u2019re taking care of people that, in many cases, they never even met before, and at great danger, at great risk. They get shot for no reason whatsoever, other than they\u2019re wearing blue. They get knifed. You saw that the other night. It was a horrible thing.<\/p>\n

But there is no opportunity without safety. In Chicago, 48 people were shot, and 18 people were killed in one day. Sunday, May 31st. Think of that. Forty-eight people shot; eighteen people killed. You don\u2019t hear about it too much.<\/p>\n

Every child should be able to grow up in a safe community, free from violence and fear. They\u2019ve taken a lot of the police protection away in Chicago, and they have great, great police in Chicago. I know Chicago very well, but they\u2019re not allowed to do what they can do better than anybody. They could do the job very easily.<\/p>\n

Americans are good and virtuous people. We have to work together to confront bigotry and prejudice wherever they appear. But we\u2019ll make no progress and heal no wounds by falsely labeling tens of millions of decent Americans as racists or bigots. We have to get everybody together. We have to be on the same \u2014 the same path, I think, Pastor. If we don\u2019t do that, we have \u2014 we have problems. And we\u2019ll do that. We\u2019ll do it. I think we\u2019re going to do it very easily. It\u2019ll go quickly and it\u2019ll go \u2014 it\u2019ll go very easily.<\/p>\n

We have so many different elements of strength in this country. We have such potential in this country. We have the greatest potential. We have the greatest country in the world. But we get off subject. We start thinking about things that don\u2019t matter or don\u2019t matter much. And the important things, we don\u2019t even discuss. But we\u2019re here to discuss some very important things.<\/p>\n

Today, politicians make false charges, and they\u2019re trying to distract from their own failed records. They have some very bad records. And these are usually the ones that cause the problems or can\u2019t solve the problems. These are the same politicians who shipped our jobs away and took tremendous advantage of all Americans. But African American middle class \u2014 so much of that wealth and that money and those jobs went to China and other countries. And they get trapped. They get trapped. They get trapped in a government morass. They get trapped in bad government schools.<\/p>\n

So I\u2019m going to be announcing four steps to build safety and opportunity and dignity:<\/p>\n

First, we\u2019re aggressively pursuing economic development in minority communities. We\u2019re doing it very powerfully. We\u2019ve done it with Opportunity Zones, but we\u2019re going to go above that. At the heart of this effort is increasing access to capital for small businesses, and that\u2019s with minority owners in black communities. And we\u2019re going to get it done, and it should have been done a long time ago. It\u2019s been very difficult \u2014 very, very difficult for some people. It\u2019s been unfairly difficult.<\/p>\n

Second, we are confronting the healthcare disparities, including addressing chronic conditions and investing substantial sums in minority-serving medical institutions. We have medical institutions in some areas of our country that are a disgrace. I was going to say \u201cnot up to standard.\u201d They\u2019re much worse than \u201cnot up to standard.\u201d They\u2019re a disgrace. We\u2019ll take care of it.<\/p>\n

Third, we\u2019re working to finalize an executive order that will encourage police departments nationwide to meet the most current professional standards for the use of force, including tactics for de-escalation.<\/p>\n

Also, we\u2019ll encourage pilot programs that allow social workers to join certain law enforcement officers so that they work together.<\/p>\n

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We\u2019ll take care of our police. We\u2019ll take \u2014 we\u2019re not defunding police. If anything, we\u2019re going the other route: We\u2019re going to make sure that our police are well trained \u2014 perfectly trained, they have the best equipment. (Applause.)<\/p>\n

Some of the things that we have heard \u2014 because I know a lot of the people in the audience, and they\u2019re professionals at what they do, and they\u2019re successful people, and we\u2019re hearing things that are not even thinkable. I didn\u2019t even hear \u2014 I\u2019ve never even heard of this before last week. It was like \u2014 it started about a week ago, where I heard they want to close up all police forces. That\u2019s what their attack on a very liberal governor in the state of Washington is: \u201cWe want the police force closed.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not like they want to, sort of, bring a little money into something else; they want it actually closed. I\u2019m thinking, \u201cWhat happens late at night when you make that call to 911 and there\u2019s nobody there?\u201d What do you have \u2014 what do you do? (Applause.) Whether you\u2019re white, black, or anybody else, I mean, what do you do? You\u2019re dialing, and there\u2019s somebody breaking into a house, and it happens to be a violent person. There are violent people around, Pastor. Even you will admit that, right?<\/p>\n

PASTOR MORRIS: Yes.<\/p>\n

THE PRESIDENT: We want to think the best \u2014 (laughter) \u2014 but you have some very violent people. And when they\u2019re breaking into your house at 12 o\u2019clock in the evening, and you\u2019re sitting there, and you don\u2019t have a police force, they\u2019re actually think- \u2014 they\u2019re actually talking about not having a police force. Well, that\u2019s not happening with us. We\u2019re going to have stronger police forces because that\u2019s what you need.<\/p>\n

In Minneapolis, they went through three nights of hell. And then I was insistent on having the National Guard go in and do their work. It was like a miracle. It just \u2014 everything stopped. And I\u2019ll never forget the scene. It\u2019s not supposed to be a beautiful scene, but, to me, it was \u2014 after you watch policemen running out of a police precinct.<\/p>\n

And it wasn\u2019t their fault. They wanted to do what they had to do, but they weren\u2019t allowed to do anything. It wasn\u2019t really their fault. But they were running down the street. They weren\u2019t allowed to do what they\u2019re trained to do. And they took over the precinct. They burned it \u2014 essentially burned it down. I\u2019m pretty good at construction. I want to tell you: That was almost what we call a complete renovation, if you\u2019re lucky. (Laughter.)<\/p>\n

And it was a very sad thing. I don\u2019t think I\u2019ve ever seen anything like that. I don\u2019t think I\u2019ve ever seen anything like that.<\/p>\n

But we are very proud of the fact that I called \u2014 I said, \u201cI\u2019m sorry. We have to have them go in.\u201d And they went in, and it was like a knife cutting butter \u2014 right through. Boom. I\u2019ll never forget. You saw the scene: on that road, wherever it may be, in the city \u2014 Minneapolis. They were lined up. Boom \u2014 they just walked straight. And, yes, there was some tear gas and probably some other things, and the crowd dispersed, and they went through it. By the end of that evening \u2014 and it was a short evening \u2014 everything was fine and you didn\u2019t hear too much about that location having problems anymore; they went to other locations.<\/p>\n

And the same thing would happen. As an example, Seattle would be so easy to solve. It would be so easy to solve. We have a governor here of a great state; it\u2019s called Texas. He would solve it very easily \u2014 (applause) \u2014 as would \u2014 as would other of your \u2014 as would other of your political leaders, including your lieutenant governor. They would solve it very easily.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s \u2014 a lot of it is common sense. I don\u2019t even think it\u2019s courage. I think it\u2019s probably more courageous the other way, because I wouldn\u2019t want to be doing it the other way. It\u2019s very unsafe.<\/p>\n

So I just want to tell you that we\u2019re working on a lot of different elements having to do with law, order, safety, comfort, control. But we want safety. We want compassion. We want everything.<\/p>\n

What happened two weeks ago was a disgrace when you see that. What happened on numerous occasions over the last two weeks \u2014 people were killed. A number of people were killed and it was very, very terrible and very, very unfair. A number of them were police officers. And it was a very unfair situation. We don\u2019t want to see that.<\/p>\n

And with strength, you wouldn\u2019t even have that. They wouldn\u2019t be in a position to do the kind of damage that they\u2019ve done. They\u2019ve destroyed people. They\u2019ve destroyed businesses. They\u2019ve destroyed African-American-owned small businesses that, hopefully, they\u2019re going to come back. We\u2019re providing funding for a lot of small businesses, and hopefully we\u2019ll be able to get everybody online and get funding to be able to open up their stores and their small businesses again.<\/p>\n

But we\u2019re working to finalize an executive order that will encourage police departments nationwide to meet the most current professional standards of force. And that means force, but force with compassion. But if you\u2019re going to have to really do a job \u2014 if somebody is really bad, you\u2019re going to have to do it with real strength, real power.<\/p>\n

And I said \u2014 and people said, \u201cOh, I don\u2019t know if we like that expression.\u201d I said, \u201cWe have to dominate the streets.\u201d You can\u2019t let that happen, what happened in New York City \u2014 the damage they\u2019ve done. You have to dominate the streets. (Applause.)<\/p>\n

And I was criticized for that statement. I made the statements, \u201cWe have to dominate the street.\u201d And they said, \u201cOh that\u2019s such a terrible thing.\u201d Well, guess what? You know who dominated the streets? People that you don\u2019t want to dominate the streets, and look at the damage they did.<\/p>\n

So I\u2019ll stick with that, and I think most of the people in this room \u2014 maybe every person in this room \u2014 will stick with that. And we\u2019re doing it with compassion, if you think about it. We\u2019re dominating the street with compassion, because we\u2019re saving lives and we\u2019re saving businesses. We\u2019re saving families from being wiped out after working hard for 20 and 30 years. I saw the one woman: She worked 35 years building a store, and in one night, in was totally wiped out. It\u2019s terrible.<\/p>\n

And, fourth, we\u2019re renewing our call on Congress to finally enact school choice now. School choice is a big deal \u2014 (applause) \u2014 because access to education is the civil rights issue of our time. And I\u2019ve heard that for the last, I would say, year. But it really is; it\u2019s the civil rights issue of our time. When you can have children go to a school where their parents want them to go. And it creates competition. And other schools fight harder because, all of a sudden, they say, \u201cWow. We\u2019re losing it. We have to fight hard.\u201d It gets better in so many different ways.<\/p>\n

But there are groups of people against that. You have unions against it. You have others against it. And they\u2019re not against it for the right reasons. They\u2019re against it for a lot of the wrong reasons. And we\u2019re going to get that straightened out. Now, we\u2019ve done a lot of it. We\u2019ve had tremendous success with choice.<\/p>\n

We had choice in a lot of ways. We also have choice in the military. You know, before I came here, the vets would wait on line, Pastor. They\u2019d be waiting \u2014 you \u2014 it wouldn\u2019t be acceptable to you. I know it wouldn\u2019t be acceptable to the Bishop. I know it\u2019s not going to be acceptable to you. They\u2019d wait for four or five weeks to get on line \u2014 a vet \u2014 where they were sick. They were feeling badly, and they\u2019d get on line, and they\u2019d say, \u201cThere\u2019s a six-day wait, sir.\u201d \u201cThere\u2019s a two-week wait.\u201d \u201cThere\u2019s a one-month wait.\u201d And you\u2019d have people on line that weren\u2019t very ill, and they\u2019d be terminally ill before they got to see a doctor, and they\u2019d die.<\/p>\n

And for years and years, they\u2019ve been trying to get Veterans Choice. That means if you can\u2019t get to a doctor reasonably quickly, you go outside, you go to a local doctor around where you live, and the government pays the bill. And, by the way, it sounds expensive; it\u2019s very cheap, by comparison. It\u2019s actually much better. Now, most importantly, we take care of our vets. By far, most importantly. (Applause.)<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s one of those many cases where it\u2019s actually less costly and better. Sometimes you\u2019ll see a building \u2014 it costs less money than another building that costs more, because the one that built the one that cost more, this one looks better. The one that\u2019s cheaper, it looks better. They say, \u201cHow much more did you spend for that building?\u201d Actually, we spent less. You can do that. It\u2019s called: \u201cYou have to know what you\u2019re doing\u201d \u2014 (laughter) \u2014 if you know what you\u2019re doing. That\u2019s only good for the real estate people in here, of which there are plenty, by the way.<\/p>\n

So I just want to thank everybody. This is a tremendous place. This is a great city. This is a great, great city and with tremendous people and tremendous pride. And I say the same for the state of Texas. You know, your governor came to me, and he said \u2014 when you had your bad hurricane two years ago, I gave so much money to Texas. More \u2014 he kept coming: \u201cMore.\u201d (Laughter.) \u201cHow about here? How about\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

So, finally, you know, though, we took good care of Texas. Is that right?<\/p>\n

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PASTOR MORRIS: Yes, sir.<\/p>\n

THE PRESIDENT: We took such good care of Texas. They were looking for the next hurricane. They said, \u201cWhen\u2019s the next hurricane?\u201d (Laughter and applause.) But they had a big one. And they say you had the largest water dump ever. It just didn\u2019t stop. It came in, and you thought it was gone, and then it went back out and it reloaded, right? And it happened three times.<\/p>\n

And your governor came, and he wanted to build a barrier so that water would hit the barrier, it wouldn\u2019t come into certain parts of Texas. He called me, he said, \u201cSir, I just have one more request.\u201d This is after we gave $28 billion. So, $28 billion. I mean, we watch the pennies, but when it comes to Texas, we don\u2019t watch them too closely, okay? (Laughter and applause.)<\/p>\n

And he said \u2014 Governor Abbott \u2014 he said, \u201cJust one more request, and it\u2019s a very small one, sir. We have a way of building a wall. It goes up and down. It moves with the tides.\u201d I said, \u201cThat sounds expensive to me.\u201d \u201cIt moves with the tides, and it\u2019s not a lot of money. Could I ask you to do me one small favor and approve it?\u201d I said, \u201cHow much is it?\u201d \u201cSir, it\u2019s only $10 billion.\u201d (Laughter.) And I said, \u201cStart working on it.\u201d Right? I said, \u201cStart working on it,\u201d because we can do things to get rid of those.<\/p>\n

You have some \u2014 you get hit pretty hard here. They get hit pretty hard here, don\u2019t they? Were you affected very much when you had \u2014 during the hurricanes itself?<\/p>\n

PASTOR MORRIS: We had a lot of people who were displaced that came to this area.<\/p>\n

THE PRESIDENT: Yeah. Well, we took good care of everybody.<\/p>\n

PASTOR MORRIS: Yes, you did.<\/p>\n

THE PRESIDENT: So, I just want to say this is one of my favorite places. I know we\u2019re doing very well here.<\/p>\n

During the last process, they kept saying that Texas was too close to call. And friends of mine in Texas would say, \u201cIt\u2019s not too close to call. You\u2019re going to win in a landslide.\u201d And I said, \u201cWell, they keep saying\u2026\u201d \u2014 (applause). They had \u2014 one man got on television, actually, and he said, \u201cI don\u2019t know where you come from, but I don\u2019t think this is too close to call. I think he\u2019s going to win by a lot.\u201d We won by a lot. It was eight o\u2019clock and the polls were closed. And they said, \u201cDonald Trump has won the state of Texas.\u201d (Applause.) And he said it simultaneously. So \u2014<\/p>\n

And we\u2019re doing good here again, but, you know, one of the things, I have to say \u2014 because this is big oil territory \u2014 I think we\u2019ve done a fantastic job with bringing back the oil in a rapid fashion. That looked pretty bad. That\u2019d look pretty bad. (Applause.)<\/p>\n

You had a case \u2014 you had a couple of hours where if you bought a barrel of oil, you bought it for $37 \u2014 as if they gave you $37. Okay? There\u2019s never been a thing like that ever. And now I see that it\u2019s getting close to $40 a barrel and you\u2019re back in business, and we got it done fast and we got Russia together with Saudi Arabia, and they cut production. And they got it back fast, and we\u2019re very, very proud of it.<\/p>\n

The supply changed rapidly with COVID-19, or whatever you want to call it. I had never heard so many names. You have about 30 names you can call this thing. (Laughter.) All I \u2014 I call it \u201cthe plague from China.\u201d (Laughter.) \u201cThe plague.\u201d (Laughter and applause.) And it\u2019s not good. And it\u2019s not good. And it\u2019s \u2014 it could have been stopped. It could have been stopped in China, but they decided not to do that. And we\u2019ll have to figure that one out, won\u2019t we?<\/p>\n

So I just want to thank everybody very much for being here. This is a very spectacular place. And I want to introduce Attorney General Barr and Secretary Carson to say a few words, along with the Surgeon General, who has been a real young star in the administration. And, please, if I could, Bill? Take over, please. Thank you very much.<\/p>\n

ATTORNEY GENERAL BARR: Thank you, Mr. President. (Applause.)<\/p>\n

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you.<\/p>\n

ATTORNEY GENERAL BARR: Thank you, Mr. President, and thank you for convening this discussion. And I\u2019d like to thank the many impressive leaders \u2014 civic leaders, religious leaders, and colleagues from law enforcement \u2014 who are here.<\/p>\n

That ghastly spectacle in Minneapolis was really jarring to the whole nation, and it forced us to confront and think about, reflect on longstanding issues in our nation. Those issues obviously relate to the relationship between law enforcement and the African American community.<\/p>\n

But just to step back a little and take a broader view initially, I\u2019ve been thinking about how do we achieve the full American Dream for all communities. African American communities, all communities. And one of the reasons I\u2019m proud to serve in this administration is because I think the President is moving forward on the critical elements necessary to provide and ensure that opportunity.<\/p>\n

First and foremost, economic growth. Without growth, there is no opportunity. Second \u2014 (applause) \u2014 second, education. I think Condi Rice said a few years ago it\u2019s the civil rights issue of our time. Because without a good education, they are not allowing our young people to seize their opportunities and pursue their dreams. (Applause.)<\/p>\n

And as the President mentioned, it\u2019s only by empowering parents and giving them the power to choose the education for their children that we\u2019re ever going to be able to obtain that.<\/p>\n

Third, I think, is moral discipline. And our young people, they have to have the discipline to seize the opportunity, to make momentary sacrifices for later gain. And traditionally, that has come \u2014 and people can find it, perhaps, from many sources \u2014 but traditionally that has come from religion, which our founders believed was the foundation of our republic. And \u2014 (applause) \u2014 and we \u2014 we have to stop policies that undermine religion or relegate religion out of the public square. (Applause.)<\/p>\n

But now I get to my job, which is safety. Without safety you cannot have progress. You can\u2019t have a life \u2014 a decent life in a community. And, you know, this was struck home to me 30 years ago when I visited Trenton when I was Attorney General last time, and I went to a small barber shop in an African American neighborhood. And there were people there in their 60s and 70s, and they said, \u201cMr. Barr, we\u2019re in our golden years, and we are living behind bars. Look down the street. All the bars are on our windows, and the criminals run free on the street.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now, we\u2019ve made a lot of progress since then; the crime rate has been cut in half. And a big part of that has been improvement in policing, and the progress we\u2019ve made in policing, and, yes, the progress that police have made \u2014 police departments have made in building relationships with the community.<\/p>\n

[320left]I think law enforcement has understood for a long time that there is distrust in the African American community toward the law enforcement system. And when you reflect on our history, you could understand why: Because for most of our history, just up until the last 60 years, the institutions in this country \u2014 the laws and the institutions were explicitly discriminatory. There was not equal protection of the law, by law. And it\u2019s only been since Jim Crow that our laws have been changed to provide for equal justice.<\/p>\n

And what we\u2019ve had, really, since \u2014 and so the Civil Rights effort, up until that time, was to tear down institutions. But I don\u2019t think now is the time to be tearing down our institutions, because we\u2019ve been on a march for the last 50 years of reforming our institutions, and we don\u2019t need to tear them down. We have to be mature about this, and when we see problems, we have to redouble our efforts to reform our institutions and make sure they\u2019re in sync with our values.<\/p>\n

And I don\u2019t think anyone who\u2019s honest would deny that we\u2019ve made a lot of progress in policing over the last 50 years. And, in fact, you know, one of the things about this episode in Minneapolis was how fast both the state and federal law enforcement responded to \u2014 to dealing with \u2014 with that action.<\/p>\n

So I think that, while we saw something very bad, it has helped perhaps galvanize the will of the country to bring good out of that. And we can\u2019t let that incident obscure the fact that progress has been made; that policemen are, by and large, by overwhelming majority, good, decent people who care about their community and put their lives on the line for us, their neighbors. (Applause.) And we can\u2019t lose sight of the fact and can\u2019t let this event obscure the fact that the \u2014 the real oppression and danger to our communities comes more from violent crime and lawlessness than it does from the police. (Applause)<\/p>\n

Now, we\u2019ve never \u2014 we\u2019ve never had \u2014 we\u2019ve never had a President who is more committed to reforming law enforcement. And he\u2019s done that with the FIRST STEP Act and with the first police commission since Lyndon Johnson. And I\u2019m very optimistic about, you know, what we\u2019re going to be able to do \u2014 given his leadership, but also given the leadership of our police forces, which around the country increasingly have become better and better led.<\/p>\n

And the \u2014 I think the police profession is itself committed to addressing the issues that we saw in Minneapolis and completing the process of professionalizing policing in this country.<\/p>\n

And, as the President said, we\u2019re working on a number of things through the commission that he set up and also through an executive order to propel that process even faster by looking at how we can encourage the adoption of guidelines about the use of force that are acceptable, both to the community and to the \u2014 and to the police profession, but also to encourage certification of police forces, and also through such activities as increasing grants to encourage the use of co-responders.<\/p>\n

More and more, our police are being asked to deal with problems that \u2014 that, you know, hasn\u2019t previously been the problem of law enforcement. They have to deal with homeless people. They have to deal with a lot of mental health issues. They have to deal with, you know, drug addiction, the drug addicts, and so forth. And providing some additional support to the police in these areas is going to be important.<\/p>\n

So let me just say that the U.S. Department of Justice is committed to support the President\u2019s efforts here, do all we can to bring good out of this bad incident.<\/p>\n

Thank you. (Applause.)<\/p>\n

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, Bill. Thank you.<\/p>\n

Surgeon General, please go ahead. Do you want to go?<\/p>\n

SURGEON GENERAL ADAMS: Secretary Carson is going to go.<\/p>\n

THE PRESIDENT: Go ahead. Why don\u2019t you go, and then Ben will go? Is that okay?<\/p>\n

SURGEON GENERAL ADAMS: All right.<\/p>\n

THE PRESIDENT: Good. Go ahead.<\/p>\n

SURGEON GENERAL ADAMS: Well, thank you, Mr. President. I appreciate it. (Applause.) Thank you, everyone, for coming today. Thank you to the panelists.<\/p>\n

I just want to start off by saying that many people across the country and across the great state of Texas are hurting right now due to the tragedy that occurred to George Floyd. And I just want to extend my condolences to the Floyd family and to the entire Texas community, because I know that you all live together, you work together, you play together, and you hurt together here in Texas. And so, I want you to know that I feel that for you. (Applause.)<\/p>\n

The President asked me to give you a quick update on America\u2019s COVID-19 response. Thanks to cooperation with state and local partners, we\u2019re making progress against the virus \u2014 we are \u2014 and towards a safe reopening.<\/p>\n

Through strong public and private partnerships, America has now done more than 20 million tests. And that number is a big number. It\u2019s not just about the number; it\u2019s also about how many of those tests are coming back positive. We have a positive rate under 6 percent nationally. And from a public health perspective, if we\u2019re under 10 percent positive, we\u2019re doing a good job.<\/p>\n

So there\u2019s a lot of challenges out there, but I want you all to know that we are moving in the right direction. The data shows that we are moving in the right direction as a nation.<\/p>\n

And this has happened, in part, thanks to opening of over 500 community-based testing sites through the work of private sector partners and the United States Public Health Service, which I helped lead with Admiral Giroir. Seventy percent of those sites are in CDC-designated vulnerable areas. That means that we\u2019re taking the testing to those who need it the most, to those who are most at risk. We also have testing at 92 percent of America\u2019s community health centers, which predominantly serve low-income areas and communities of color.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve helped equip our frontline workers, our healthcare heroes, with 94 million N95 respirators, 149 million surgical masks, and more than a billion gloves. And a large proportion of those supplies, at the President and the Secretary\u2019s direction, are going to nursing homes.<\/p>\n

And I just want to \u2014 I see the governor over there. I want to give you all a shout-out. Texas has led the way in nursing home testing. A hundred percent of their nursing homes have been tested. They\u2019re leading the way in testing people in corrections facilities. Over 95 percent of people in corrections facilities have been tested. And that is something you all should be tremendously proud of. (Applause.)<\/p>\n

And these efforts have allowed states to proceed with a safe reopening, while we work with states to monitor the incoming data. We know we\u2019re going to have clusters, but while we respond to spikes, and we adjust policies as needed.<\/p>\n

But I want you to know that safe reopening is crucial for other areas in health too. We need Americans to be able to return to cancer screenings. My wife just finished cancer treatment. If she\u2019d had to wait six months to get her cancer screened, she might not be here today. We need people to get their surgeries. We need people to get their vaccinations. 4.2 million children are behind on vaccinations now because of the COVID closures. We know every 1 percent increase in unemployment equates to a 1.3 percent increase in suicides. 1.3 percent increase in suicides.<\/p>\n

So we want to reopen safely. We also have to remember that being shut down has health consequences beyond COVID. We know that being out of school is bad for your health. We need to get our kids back in school safely. (Laughter and applause.) I have a 15-, a 14-, and a 10-year-old. And so, can you tell I\u2019ve been saying that a lot? (Laughter.)<\/p>\n

But we know that COVID-19 has a tragically disproportionate burden on communities of color: Black Americans hospitalized at 4.5 times higher rates than whites; hospitalization rates 3.5 times higher for Hispanics than whites and five times higher for American Indians and Alaskan Natives.<\/p>\n

The fact is this virus is exploiting and exacerbating preexisting health disparities. And these disparate outcomes and opportunities for health are, in part, the anger, the frustration, and the fear that we\u2019re seeing manifest in protests around the country.<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s why it\u2019s important for people to know that, beyond talking about the problem, at the President\u2019s direction, at Secretary Azar\u2019s direction, HHS and the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council, or WHORC, are focusing resources on minority communities.<\/p>\n

HHS recently allocated $15 billion to Medicaid providers and $10 billion to safety net hospitals, both groups of providers that disproportionately serve Americans of color. And I spent the last 10 years working at a safety net hospital \u2013Eskenazi Hospital in Indianapolis. I can tell you those are the places that are doing the work. Those are the places that, at President\u2019s direction, we\u2019re focusing our resources towards.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re working with a consortium \u2014 with the consortium of black medical schools to fund and scale local efforts in communities that, again, reach communities of color. CDC now requires all testing data reported by states include information on race, ethnicity, and zip code so we can continue to further refine and focus our strategy on the hardest-hit communities.<\/p>\n

CMS is deregulating telemedicine to make ongoing care for many medical conditions safe, accessible, and convenient for the patients and for healthcare professionals. Again, we can\u2019t afford to let people continue to go without their care. And the administration\u2019s emphasis on public-private partnerships is allowing us to progress towards a vaccine and treatments at a record pace as a part of Operation Warp Speed.<\/p>\n

I want to add that SAMHSA has just funded three community behavioral health clinics right here in Texas with the CARES Act funding. Some of your congressional representatives are here. I want to say thank you to you all for passing that and to the President for signing it to address COVID-19 and behavioral health needs. These facilities integrate mental health, substance abuse treatment, and physical healthcare in one setting, and provide 24\/7 crisis intervention services.<\/p>\n

Another notable Mental Health Awareness Training grant is in Austin, where funds are used to train community health officials, including law enforcement. And we have many of them in the crowd today on recognizing signs and symptoms of mental illness and mental health crises, and how to help an individual who\u2019s struggling. That\u2019s all part of \u2014 of reform. That\u2019s all part of reform in the positive direction, giving our frontline workers the tools and the training they need to be able to take care of these difficult situations.<\/p>\n

As Mayor Sylvester Turner said at George Floyd\u2019s funeral, we must encourage business leaders to invest in our underserved communities. And that\u2019s what the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council is all about. I have a upcoming Surgeon General\u2019s report on community health and economic prosperity, which aims to mobilize businesses to invest deeply and over time in the health of their communities.<\/p>\n

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Finally, to focus on chronic conditions that disproportionately impact black and brown people and may worsen because of COVID, Secretary Azar has instructed my office to accelerate the release of two calls to action: the first on maternal health \u2014 addressing the fact that women of color suffer more complications and a much higher risk of dying around childbirth. Black women are four to five times more likely to die around childbirth than white women. Native American women are more likely to die around childbirth than white women. And that\u2019s after you control for income, after you control for education, after you control for every known factor that we \u2014 that we have.<\/p>\n

My second call to action is on hypertension control for all Americans. Hypertension is common, it\u2019s costly, and it\u2019s treatable. And yet, control rates are low and stalled, especially in communities of color.<\/p>\n

So I just want to close by saying that, as we reopen, the basic public health recommendations we\u2019ve emphasized remain important. We flattened the curve, but that doesn\u2019t mean that COVID has gone away, that it\u2019s any less contagious, that it\u2019s any less deadly to vulnerable communities.<\/p>\n

So if you don\u2019t want to listen to me, listen to Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan. Nolan Ryan filmed a PSA at the governor\u2019s direction. And he said, number one, wash your hands. Wash them more than you\u2019ve ever watched them before in your life.<\/p>\n

Number two, follow your local and state guidelines around social distancing. This virus likes to spread person to person. So the more we can keep distance between people, especially people we don\u2019t know, the harder it is for this virus to transmit.<\/p>\n

And number three \u2014 this isn\u2019t me speaking; this is Nolan Ryan, Hall of Fame pitcher here. (Laughter.) When you\u2019re in a public place where it\u2019s difficult to keep a distance, like the grocery or pharmacy, the CDC recommends wearing a face covering to protect your neighbors in the event that you have COVID and you don\u2019t know it. Up to 50 percent of people who have COVID are asymptomatic.<\/p>\n

So thanks to the hard work of so many healthcare and public health professionals and the commitment of the American people, I want to reiterate, because you don\u2019t hear this enough, that we are making huge progress in the fight against COVID-19. And as a member of the task force, I can tell you that we frequently talk about the great work Texas has been doing up until this point to keep the people of Texas safe, to keep the most vulnerable members of their community safe. And with every American\u2019s help, with your help, Texas, we\u2019ll keep making progress. We\u2019re going to beat this virus.<\/p>\n

And thank you for the opportunity, Mr. President. Thank you, Texas. (Applause.)<\/p>\n

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much, Surgeon General. Thank you. (Applause.)<\/p>\n

Ben Carson? Please, Ben.<\/p>\n

SECRETARY CARSON: Okay. Well, thank you, Mr. President, for your leadership and your courage. I don\u2019t know of anybody who could stand up to all the criticism you get every day, 24 \u2013(applause) \u2014<\/p>\n

THE PRESIDENT: Do we have a choice? Thank you.<\/p>\n

SECRETARY CARSON: You know, our nation is continuing a path of renewal and recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. But since the beginning, the President has talked about being a champion for the forgotten men and women of this nation. And that\u2019s exactly where we\u2019ve been concentrating. And it\u2019s been an honor to serve in an administration with that goal. And I\u2019m excited to see America beginning to bounce back.<\/p>\n

The infrastructure \u2014 the economic infrastructure of our country is very strong, secondary to the abolition of multitudinous regulations and targeted tax cuts. It\u2019s still there. That foundation is there, and we will be able to get back on that track pretty quickly.<\/p>\n

But to help speed this rebound, the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council was formed to really help the long-forgotten communities achieve economic opportunity. And it has been refocused, at your direction, to help America\u2019s hardest-hit communities achieve economic recovery, overcome health disparities, and thrive through educational and workforce advancement.<\/p>\n

Now, to stimulate economic development and entrepreneurship, the council has worked to set aside additional payment protection funding for our nation\u2019s low-income minority communities and provided technical support to help these communities to access this funding. They have stated that, during the first round, the money wasn\u2019t getting to them. We are addressing that, and I want to thank all the different agencies. Virtually every governmental agency has contributed significantly to refocusing and addressing these problems.<\/p>\n

The groundbreaking initiative known as Opportunity Zones, which encourages long-term investment in the forgotten communities, will also be expanded to include more of the underserved areas.<\/p>\n

Another major initiative \u2014 improving health and public safety \u2014 comes with several administrative and legislative proposals. For example, we believe both telemedicine and increased use of mobile care can be major catalysts in our mission to overcome health disparities in underserved communities.<\/p>\n

Those are things that can actually be done very rapidly to bring healthcare to people who\u2019ve previously been neglected. And to further this effort, we\u2019re also committed to reforming the infrastructure of our public health data system, addressing chronic conditions in at-risk populations, and working to address food insecurity in underserved communities. That means healthy foods at reasonable prices that are accessible.<\/p>\n

But one of the things that I just mentioned \u2014 the data collection \u2014 we have 50 states and we have territories, and Washington, D.C., and we have all of those many different healthcare collection systems. And we are working to homogenize all of that. And we\u2019ll make it much easier for us to identify quickly health issues and to be able to address them very quickly.<\/p>\n

Other legislative proposals, such as advancing national broadband access and investment in minority-serving medical institutions, will also play a major role in improving the wellbeing of these forgotten communities. Making sure that we have broadband access will give access to remote learning.<\/p>\n

We will have the possibility of taking the very best biology teacher, and instead of putting them in front of 30 students, putting them in front of a million students, so that those students who have been neglected during all this time and relegated to places where they\u2019re not getting an appropriate education will be able to access those things.<\/p>\n

But to guarantee the fruits of these efforts and that they\u2019re long lasting, we understand the need to go for it with a long-term view through our focus on education and workforce development. Education and workforce development is what leads to real independence for people.<\/p>\n

And the council supports empowering disadvantaged students with dual-enrollment opportunities, the creation of new short-term education and career pathways, and increased access to capital for our nation\u2019s HBCUs.<\/p>\n

School choice measures, presidential scholarships, and Second Chance Pell grants to reintegrate formerly incarcerated individuals are initiatives that will prove valuable investments in our country\u2019s human capital. And we must remember these innovative new approaches in education and workforce development are nothing less than an investment in our future.<\/p>\n

We only have 330 million people in this country. Sounds like a lot of people, but compared to China, it\u2019s a quarter of what they have; India, it\u2019s a quarter of what they have. And we have to compete with them in the future. So we need to develop all of our people.<\/p>\n

And, you know, education, in particular, played a big role in my development. I was not a particularly good student \u2014 and that\u2019s putting it mildly. Everybody thought I was stupid, except my mother. (Laughter.) She was always saying, \u201cBenjamin, you can bring home much better grades than this.\u201d But I would agree that I could, but I didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

But interestingly enough, you know, my mother studied the homes of the \u2014 that she cleaned as a domestic. She came from nothing \u2014 my mother. Twenty-four, children, got married when she was 13, dire poverty, discovered her husband was a bigamist. But she was still smart enough to study those people who had these beautiful homes. And she figured that the reason they did so well is because they were well educated and they read a lot, and they didn\u2019t watch a lot of TV.<\/p>\n

So she came home and imposed that on me and my brother. (Laughter.) And we were not happy campers, let me tell you. If it were today\u2019s world, we would have called social services and they\u2019d taken her away. (Laughter.)<\/p>\n

But \u2014 but what a difference it made, you know, starting to focus on education, starting to read books, to read about people from lots of different backgrounds \u2014 entrepreneurs and scientists and explorers and surgeons. And I begin to recognize that the person who has the most to do with what happens to you is you. It\u2019s not somebody else. And nobody can stop you once you decide that that is the case. (Applause.)<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s why, with the council, there is so much emphasis on education, because it doesn\u2019t matter where you came from \u2014 you get a good education and you write your own ticket. And we must reject those people who are trying to prevent school choice, who are trying to prevent the presidential scholarships, all the things that are there to empower people. And you will see a lot of that coming out of this administration.<\/p>\n

And, you know, these investments and innovation give me a tremendous amount of hope for the future of this nation. Mr. President, under your leadership, I\u2019m confident that the American people will emerge stronger from this pandemic and more determined than ever. And we, the people, will recognize, despite all the forces to the contrary, that we are not each other\u2019s enemies. And \u2014 (applause) \u2014<\/p>\n

THE PRESIDENT: That\u2019s great. Thank you, Ben. Boy, that was pretty good. Standing O for Ben. (Laughter.) He\u2019s used to that. He\u2019s used to it. Great job, Ben. He\u2019s done a fantastic job at HUD, I have to tell you that.<\/p>\n

How about Scott? We\u2019ll go quick, Scott, so we get \u2014 we\u2019ll get something, but Scott Turner is \u2014 (applause) \u2014 he\u2019s a star. He\u2019s a young star. Go ahead, Scott.<\/p>\n

MR. TURNER: Well, thank you, Mr. President, and thank you for your leadership and giving me the opportunity to shepherd the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council. And \u2014 (applause) \u2014 so, thank you.<\/p>\n

[320left]And it\u2019s also been a great joy to work on a daily basis with Doctor and Secretary Ben Carson. And so, Dr. Carson, thank you for your leadership and your trust and confidence in me.<\/p>\n

I just want to deliver some good news, along with Dr. Carson and everyone on the panel. You know, oftentimes, you don\u2019t hear about the work of Opportunity Zones, but the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that the President signed into law in 2017 created the Opportunity Zone initiative. And the President created the Opportunity Zone Council. And that council was made up to take 18 agencies \u2014 15 federal and 3 state and regional partners \u2014 and move in a singular motion to direct resources into our most distressed, vulnerable, forgotten communities.<\/p>\n

And with this \u2014 (applause) \u2014 and that is \u2014 it\u2019s a tremendous time. And so our agencies on the council direct these resources. And we found 270 action items to go directly into distressed communities to help the vulnerable people of America. And we\u2019ve built tremendous coalitions, partnerships on the ground. We\u2019ve been to over 60 cities. I\u2019ve been to every one of them over the last year to visit people on the ground \u2014 education leaders, faith leaders, community leaders, business leaders, elected officials, Democrat and Republican.<\/p>\n

See, the thing about poverty, it doesn\u2019t care what party you are. The thing about revitalization, it doesn\u2019t care what party you are. We\u2019re coming together as a people for the good of the community.<\/p>\n

And, oftentimes, you may not hear about this, but we sit and convene in such as this, with all of these stakeholders at one table to have the hard conversations: What is the pain of the community? Why is the community distressed? And what can we do together \u2014 both black and white, Democrat and Republican \u2014 and come together for the good of this community, for long-term sustainability, for generational impact?<\/p>\n

And because of that, because of these partnerships, because of this collaboration together \u2014 and many people, all at this table, have been working together to bring about generational impacts, so long after we\u2019re gone and history tells the story.<\/p>\n

The Opportunity Zones is more than just a program. It\u2019s more than just a concept. It is a mission that is to outlast all of us.<\/p>\n

And I tell you that as you\u2019re here \u2014 because a lot of times, people see a government program assistant check the box. This is not a government program; this is built from the grassroots, from the bottom up, to affect the people in America. (Applause.)<\/p>\n

And lastly, Mr. President, I will say tens of billions of dollars have been invested inside of Opportunity Zones, public-private partnerships: Erie, Pennsylvania; St. Louis, Missouri; West Dallas, right here in my great home state of Texas; and other across the nation. Much money coming into our distressed communities.<\/p>\n

And I say all that to say: Even though you don\u2019t hear about it often, we have put our hand to the plow and our feet to the ground. And all of these things were done prior to COVID. But I want you to know that right now and post-COVID, that our spirit remains the same, that our heart is set, our face is set like flint, our mission is not done. But we\u2019re going to need all of you to pray for us, to walk with us, to convene with us, to invest, to teach.<\/p>\n

And so, Mr. President, thank you. Dr. Carson, thank you. And to all of my colleagues at the table, thank you for your support. It\u2019s been a great honor. (Applause.)<\/p>\n

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. That\u2019s great. Thank you, Scott. (Applause.) Thank you, Scott. Great.<\/p>\n

You want to go? Want to say something? Please, Pastor. Please.<\/p>\n

PASTOR MORRIS: Well, thank you, Mr. President. I just was thinking about that, 30 years ago, I was serving as associate pastor at a small church. And I asked Bishop Harry Jackson to come and teach us on race relations, to teach us what we didn\u2019t know, because we don\u2019t know what we don\u2019t know. And now, 30 years later, Bishop Harry and I are sitting on each side of the President of the United States. (Applause.)<\/p>\n

He was concerned about healing a problem that we\u2019ve had in our nation for a long time, but not just addressing one part of the problem, but housing \u2014 we have the Secretary of Housing, Education, Justice here. Attorney General Barr, thank you for being here. Thank you, our great governor, Governor Abbott. And I believe that we\u2019re going to work together, and we\u2019re going to see freedom and justice for all in America.<\/p>\n

Thank you, Mr. President.<\/p>\n

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. I appreciate it. (Applause.) Thank you very much. Great job you do here too. Great job.<\/p>\n

Jack, go ahead. Please.<\/p>\n

MR. BREWER: Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you, Pastor Morris, for offering your church. I think, right now, like any other time in our nation\u2019s history, we need God. (Applause.) I\u2019m praying to the Holy Spirit to put words on my mouth right now. And I want our nation to hear me: We need the fear of God. (Applause.)<\/p>\n

Mr. President, you\u2019re the only Republican I\u2019ve ever voted for. (Applause.) And I don\u2019t just say that to make you feel good. Honestly, I \u2014 that\u2019s not my goal, man. I\u2019m saying that because you stood up for the Word of God. And as believers, as the church, we have to pray for our President and have his back. When you raised that Bible up after those folks burnt that church \u2014 we are in a spiritual warfare. (Applause.)<\/p>\n

We cannot fight this battle with flesh and blood. We cannot fight this battle with politics. You cannot politicize oppression.<\/p>\n

I grew up right down the street. I looked at skinheads in the eye at 13 years old. My black father went to a KKK rally to protect me. I know what racism is. So when I hear words get thrown out about white supremacy, it eats me up, because these men aren\u2019t white supremists [sic]. That\u2019s not what they look like. I\u2019m telling black kids across America right now \u2014 we always hear we don\u2019t have black leaders: Look at this table. (Applause.) We are not as divided as our politics suggests. We are not as divided as our politics suggests.<\/p>\n

But I\u2019ll tell you what: This President \u2014 when I walk into my prisons, I\u2019m blessed. I teach, in prisons across our nation, men who are broken \u2014 the most broken men in our country. Our Bible teaches us to serve those in prison. Our Bible teaches us to serve the poor. And when I walk into my class and I say, \u201cGuys, raise your hand if you\u2019ve gotten your sentence reduced from the FIRST STEP Act,\u201d and every single one of them raised their hand. (Applause.) That\u2019s because of you, Mr. President, and that\u2019s because of policy.<\/p>\n

But you\u2019re brave enough to go against what everyone else has said about you. Now I\u2019m calling on you to do more. We have a real issue in our country. And the root of it \u2014 let\u2019s not get our eye off the enemy \u2014 the root of it is fatherlessness. (Applause.) Our kids don\u2019t fathers.<\/p>\n

Attorney \u2014 AG Barr, you said it earlier; you talked about pulling God out. Do we talk about education? Well, 71 percent of those kids that drop out of high school don\u2019t have a father in the house.<\/p>\n

We talk about criminal justice reform. You\u2019re five times more likely to go to prison or have a run-in with the police department if you don\u2019t have a father in the house.<\/p>\n

We talk about healthcare. You\u2019re four times more likely to live in poverty if you don\u2019t have a father in the house, which means you\u2019re going to be sicker.<\/p>\n

We don\u2019t have to keep looking for the problem when we see it. Now it\u2019s time for Americans of all color \u2014 I\u2019m calling on my white brothers and sisters; I\u2019m calling on my Spanish brothers and sisters: Get out of your bubbles. Go into the communities that are underserved, and let\u2019s do what Jesus told us to do. (Applause.)<\/p>\n

We can bridge this gap of fatherlessness. All we got to do is go out of our bubbles, go bridge the gap with these kids, teach them what you teach your kids. We all have rooms in our homes for a couple \u2014 couple of boys that come in and play with our sons and daughters. Let\u2019s bridge the gap through love and through being what we all know we are. And that\u2019s one America. God bless America.<\/p>\n

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. (Applause.) Anybody like to speak? Please. (Laughter.) Anybody? Who goes after that? (Laughter.)<\/p>\n

MR. DOUGLAS: Mr. President, I\u2019d like to speak. My name is Will Douglas. I\u2019m the owner \u2014 (applause) \u2014 thank you. I\u2019m the owner of Crimson Care Pharmacy Group here in Dallas, Texas, and I\u2019m also a Republican nominee for state representative here in Texas. (Applause.)<\/p>\n

First of all, I just want to thank your administration, as well as Congress, for getting the PPP loans, speaking on behalf of my pharmacies, as well as a dozen or so other pharmacies here in the state of Texas that benefited from those. Because of the PPP loans, I was able to not have to let any of my employees go. And, in fact, I was able to hire additional employees, because our business model had changed overnight. No longer could customers come into our store; they were having to go through the drive-through, which created a whole litany of other \u2014 of other issues. So \u2014 so, for that, thank you.<\/p>\n

The reason why \u2014 or the reason why I\u2019m running for office is because, to me, capitalism is the most important thing. Capitalism has created this bastion of free market enterprise that we have here in Texas, with Dallas being the crown jewel. And I\u2019m afraid that we\u2019re going to lose that system that lifts people out of poverty.<\/p>\n

I was on a call with \u2014 with leaders in the black community here in Dallas the other day, and one of them said something to me that that has stuck out \u2014 or that did stuck out, and I can\u2019t let it go. And that\u2019s that \u2014 I think he said it was an African proverb, but that a child that is not embraced by the village will burn that village down just to feel its warmth.<\/p>\n

As Republicans, we have to find ways to make capitalism embrace the people that it\u2019s left behind. Because if we don\u2019t, the next time, it won\u2019t just be villages and businesses that are being burned down, it will be the system that has lifted so many people out of poverty. (Applause.)<\/p>\n

MR. SMITH: So, Mr. President, I\u2019ll be \u2014 I\u2019ll be short. I just was going to say that \u2014 thank you so much for your leadership. And I think the infrastructure that you\u2019ve presented today is going to help a lot of people. It\u2019s going to touch businesses like William. It\u2019s going to keep community safe with the partnership of these law enforcement officials and the partnership with these ministers that we have and advocates, like Jon Ponder and Jack Brewer.<\/p>\n

And so, over the next couple of weeks, I think the American people look forward to seeing the wealth of executive orders that you\u2019re going to issue on justice, and on economic empowerment, as well as legislative asks that we\u2019re going to make to the Hill.<\/p>\n

But we all need your help \u2014 every locality, every group or organization \u2014 because it\u2019s really about bringing this all together \u2014 together. That\u2019s the secret ingredient. And it has to start at the local level. It starts at the local level because you are closer to the people. (Applause.) And we want to create that infrastructure and give you the tools to help you do what you do best, and that\u2019s help people prosper.<\/p>\n

So thanks again, Mr. President.<\/p>\n

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, Ja\u2019Ron. Thank you very much. (Applause.) Thank you, Ja\u2019Ron.<\/p>\n

MR. FRAZIER: Mr. President, I\u2019d like to say thank you for putting this together, putting this together in our state of Texas, and right here in Dallas.<\/p>\n

A lot has happened in the last week. I\u2019m one of your officers here in Dallas. I\u2019m also one of your commissioners on your law enforcement administration with the Attorney General Barr. I can\u2019t thank you \u2014 (applause).<\/p>\n

I also have to say thank you to our great governor and our leadership that\u2019s sitting right there. Without them, we don\u2019t make this state \u2014 we don\u2019t make this state great. (Applause.)<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve had some challenges because of what\u2019s happened with COVID. But I want to give you an update of what we\u2019ve done on the commission so far, where we\u2019ve had nine full hearings throughout this entire time. That\u2019s 35 panels, 125 witnesses, 190 written statements that are from individuals and interest groups. Our civil rights and community engagement organizations that we\u2019ve asked to attend have no-showed. And those are the ones who can make the biggest difference when you\u2019re putting together any type of reform, because they need to be the voice to come tell us what we need.<\/p>\n

Law enforcement today is not what it was yesterday. In my 25 years, we\u2019ve watched it propel to where our training is what we need the most. And with this bill, you\u2019re going to see \u2014 or with this commission, you\u2019re going to see so many reforms come out of it. It could not have come at a better time.<\/p>\n

We can\u2019t take back what happened in Minnesota. Not one officer that saw that \u2014 or federal officer that saw that \u2014 said that was the right thing that happened. That was \u2014 that was \u2014 it was \u2014 it was malice, and none of us \u2014 we condemn it. If I could have trade places with Mr. Floyd, I would, because I would die for everyone in this room, because that\u2019s our job. And \u2014 (applause) \u2014 if I could trade places with any one of those officers who were there, I would have done that too, because I wouldn\u2019t have let that happen.<\/p>\n

And I have to say this to the citizens that we serve and the citizens that are listening: We see you, we hear you, we are with you, and we\u2019re going to make this better. (Applause.)<\/p>\n

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. Thank you very much.<\/p>\n

MR. PONDER: Mr. President, I just want to thank you for your leadership, echoed in the sentiments of some of my colleagues up here today. Thank you for your stance on criminal justice reform. Thank you for not forgetting about the forgotten people. Thank you for your commitment and your support to the men and women of law enforcement in this country. And it is so, so very important.<\/p>\n

My name is Jon Ponder. I\u2019m the CEO of a ministry called Hope for Prisoners. And what Hope for Prisoners does is we work with men, women, and young adults that are exiting different arenas of our judicial system to provide the supportive services to help them to be able to successfully reintegrate back into their home, back into the workplace, and ultimately back into the community.<\/p>\n

And, Mr. President, thank you for coming out and attending the graduation ceremony for those 31 men and women who were released from prison. I cannot tell you the wind that was beneath their wings because you came and spoke life into them. And they\u2019re on a whole new (inaudible) of life right now because of that. (Applause.)<\/p>\n

THE PRESIDENT: Great job. Great job. That\u2019s good. Great job.<\/p>\n

MR. PONDER: One of the huge components \u2014 this is why I\u2019m so supportive of your stance on law enforcement, because one of the key components to this reentry mechanism that we built up is our partnership with the police.<\/p>\n

Our local sheriff at Las Vegas, Nevada, has given us close to 100 volunteer police officers that are mentoring and training men and women coming home from the prison system. And, sir, never before in the history of reentry, nowhere on this planet, to this magnitude, have the men and women from law enforcement come alongside formerly incarcerated folks and helped them to successfully reintegrate back into the community.<\/p>\n

That is just further evidence that we serve a gigantic God that wants to bridge the gaps. (Applause.) And in that, that is why that is so important \u2014 because what God wants to do, the Bible calls it the \u201crepairer of the breach.\u201d<\/p>\n

See, in communities across our country, there is such a disconnect between law enforcement and people from this segmented population. But when we\u2019re able to come up with very creative ways to bring folks together \u2014 because, if you think about it, all across the country, in that disconnect, people do not trust police. Do you know why? Because they\u2019re not in relationship with them. And in what relationship could you ever have trust, unless there\u2019s life rubbing up against life in the spirit of complete transparency, that we have more in common than we have differences. And out of that transparency, build the relationship. And out of that relationship, it gets established trust.<\/p>\n

It is something that Second Chance employers have absolutely fallen in love with. When you can tell \u2014 you know, tell the employer that the person that\u2019s coming, that just came home from prison, that the mentor is a captain of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department \u2014 that begins to just open doors. So I thank you for that.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[470center]<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Looking so very forward to, you know, the direction that we\u2019re going. And on behalf of the men and women who are incarcerated, right now, in our prison system across the country, thank you for creating that atmosphere for them on the inside. But I know that you have dug the trenches to create an atmosphere for them once they get released. So I thank you for that.<\/p>\n

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, Jon. Very nice. Thank you very much. (Applause.) Very nice. Great job you\u2019re doing, Jon. Great job.<\/p>\n

Please.<\/p>\n

DR. ARMSTRONG: Thank you, Mr. President, for putting this together today. I\u2019ve learned so much from these men and women on this stage. I really appreciate that. Thank you for \u2014 you know, my name is Dr. Robin Armstrong, and I\u2019ve \u2014 I\u2019m a physician, and I\u2019ve had an opportunity to treat many, many patients with the plague from China. And it\u2019s been \u2014 (laughter) \u2014 and \u2014 with the COVID-19. And so we\u2019ve had a lot of opportunity.<\/p>\n

Thank you so much for breaking down some of the regulatory barriers in the FDA to allow us to use medications like hydroxychloroquine \u2014 (applause) \u2014 and to use medications like remdesivir and plasma infusions and all of those medications that are coming online now. Thank you so much for that.<\/p>\n

You know, it\u2019s been \u2014 I had the opportunity to \u2014 we had a nursing home in South Texas that had an outbreak of COVID-19. And we saw a lot of nursing facilities around the country that were having horrible outcomes and many deaths. And what we decided to do was commit to this facility and use a medication that you are familiar with, hydroxychloroquine. And we saw tremendous outcomes. (Applause.)<\/p>\n

And it was \u2014 with the help of \u2014 with the help of some of our elected officials, our lieutenant governor, and a state senator, we were able to get access to those medications. But one of the more frustrating things I\u2019ve seen has been the resistance of some of the regulatory agencies to be more open to using that.<\/p>\n

I believe that \u2014 I certainly know that COVID-19 has significantly adversely affected the African American community. And I really believe that had there been more of an openness by the regulatory agencies, certainly by our medical boards all around the country to use medications like hydroxychloroquine, I believe more lives could have been saved.<\/p>\n

THE PRESIDENT: Right.<\/p>\n

DR. ARMSTRONG: And so I really \u2014 I want to thank you for bringing that issue to the forefront because I believe that it \u2014 it did give us more access to medications.<\/p>\n

And so \u2014 and so, it was helpful for us. I believe it saved lives. I believe we could have saved more lives. But I just want to thank you for the work that\u2019s been done.<\/p>\n

You know, regulations \u2014 and you\u2019ve really broke down a lot of barriers and regulations. And in the business community, certainly I would appreciate your \u2014 what you\u2019ve done on attempting to repeal Obamacare and all the efforts you\u2019ve made towards that. That\u2019s certainly going to improve access to care.<\/p>\n

And so, I just want to thank you for all you\u2019ve done, but we need to do a lot of work going forward to make sure that we minister to those who are most vulnerable. And so we really appreciate that.<\/p>\n

Thank you for all of the work that Secretary Carson has done and Secretary Azar has done and our Surgeon General here has done. Thank you for allowing them to have the freedom to be able to innovate and do things and look at the data and make decisions. And so we really appreciate that. And thank you so much.<\/p>\n

And physicians are very supportive of you. We\u2019re really supportive of everything you\u2019ve done to help bring this very inexpensive treatment to the forefront. And so thank you very much. (Applause.)<\/p>\n

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much, Doctor. Appreciate it. Thank you.<\/p>\n

Please.<\/p>\n

CHIEF DOOLEY: Mr. President, thank you for this opportunity. I\u2019m humbled to be here. I\u2019m Chief Dooley, Glenn Heights Department. My experience is based on serving in a large department and a small department. And I can tell you that there is some phenomenal police work being done out here across the board \u2014 across the board.<\/p>\n

But there\u2019s also some inconsistencies in our procedures, our policies, our hiring practices, our termination practices, our disciplinary practices. And I strongly support the need for standardization based on best practices for all police departments in our country. (Applause.)<\/p>\n

I thank the President for his foresight, for making these things come to happen. I know they\u2019re coming, and we need it. We are a country of very good departments, but we need to be a country of great departments. And this message today is about the transition to greatness. We have an opportunity in this country to transform the future of law enforcement.<\/p>\n

But we need to make sure that we have a relentless pursuit of dedication to public service at all times and at all levels, specifically national consistence policy on use of force \u2014 every chief would be in support of that; mandatory participation on a national use for database \u2014 use of force database \u2014 yes, it needs to happen; development of natural \u2014 national statements for discipline and termination of police officers \u2014 that needs to happen; development of a public \u2014 a police officer decertification database \u2014 yes, we need to be able to get those bad apples out of our industry so what happened will never happen again. (Applause.)<\/p>\n

We need to enhance the police leadership and culture, and it starts at the top. We have some great leaders in this country, but we can always be better. We can always continuously improve. We need to implement improved recruitment, hiring, and promotion practices that are dedicated to having officers that are relentless- \u2014 relentlessly pursuing the service of not the community, but our community. It\u2019s about \u2014 no, not dividing us, but uniting us and understand that we come from the community.<\/p>\n

We need to enhance the ability for police agencies to implement effective discipline. We need to make sure that we have policies that establish a framework for a community policemen engagement that fully embraces that police officers serve, protect, and connect everyone in our community so that we all can become better.<\/p>\n

We need training. This is not the time to defund police departments. (Applause.) When an organization or a business is struggling to be better, now is not the time to take away those resources. You provide them, and you hold them accountable, and you set expectations, and you \u2014 and you manage them so they can be better. That\u2019s what you do. We need more training. We need more specific training that\u2019s dedicated to service of those that \u2014 everyone we enact with on a daily basis: those that are homeless, those that suffer from mental illness, those that suf- \u2014 that need food. Okay, we need the training to be able to connect those people we interact with with those that can provide those services. That\u2019s what we need in this country.<\/p>\n

I want to end with just these few thoughts. I have a very simple saying to my officers \u2014 that we serve, protect, and connect, and together is better. And as I look around this room, I know that together we will become better, and we will take this country to great levels under the leadership of Donald Trump. (Applause.)<\/p>\n

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, Chief. Thank you. Thank you, very much. (Applause.) Thank you very much. That was beautiful.<\/p>\n

So it\u2019s time to say goodbye, but we\u2019ll be back. We\u2019ll be back. And I just want to thank \u2014 Bishop, you\u2019ve been my friend for a long time, and I appreciate everything you\u2019ve done and everything you\u2019ve said.<\/p>\n

BISHOP JACKSON: Thank you.<\/p>\n

THE PRESIDENT: A great unifying source of strength and everything else, and I appreciate it very much.<\/p>\n

BISHOP JACKSON: Thank you. Can I add one last thing before you leave?<\/p>\n

THE PRESIDENT: Please. Please.<\/p>\n

BISHOP JACKSON: I\u2019m tired of people blaming the current administration and others in our generation. These problems began many years ago. (Applause.) And what has been exciting to me is it was the church that began the abolitionist movement.<\/p>\n

THE PRESIDENT: Yeah.<\/p>\n

BISHOP JACKSON: It was the church and whites and blacks working together that started the NAACP. It didn\u2019t have a black leader at the beginning of time. It was the church that led through in the Civil Rights movement. So I want to offer you my support in these listening sessions, in that the church needs to come together. I believe we can unify better than any group.<\/p>\n

And what we\u2019re looking for you to do is to give structural guidance, which you\u2019re working on, and you\u2019ve \u2014 you\u2019ve already brought forth some amazing things. But I want to affirm that Democrats can\u2019t kneel down and wear Kente cloth and stop black pain. Republicans can\u2019t take some one-time act and stop black \u2014 black pain. But I believe we\u2019ve got a man here who\u2019s courageous enough to begin something that\u2019s tough, and that we\u2019re going to, this time, heal.<\/p>\n

And so, I weep over this. I pray for you, as you know.<\/p>\n

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. I know.<\/p>\n

BISHOP JACKSON: And we believe that we\u2019re going to get it right.<\/p>\n

I got to say one last thing. Being a \u2014 I lost my late wife a couple years ago. I found out, in dealing with her, that sometimes you just got to listen, feel her pain. If you try to fix it too early, you\u2019re going to make a mistake. Your listening sessions are wise because it\u2019s going to give that cathartic process a chance.<\/p>\n

So I don\u2019t want to take up too much time, sir, but I wanted to say that. The people here, I challenge you Christians \u2014 black, white, Asian: Let\u2019s come together, and let\u2019s provide a safety net, and then we\u2019ll work with business, and then we\u2019ll work along with the administration. But don\u2019t push them out here up front, and say, \u201cFix it now. Fix it now. Fix it now. Fix it now,\u201d because it\u2019s never worked that way. Thank you, sir.<\/p>\n

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much, Harry. Appreciate it. Thank you very much. Thank you very much, Pastor. Fantastic job you do. Thank you, everybody. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Washington, D.C. – PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Nice place. Wow. I\u2019ve been hearing about this one. Great job. (Laughter.) Great job. Thank you very much for being here. It\u2019s an honor. And very important time in our country. A lot of things are happening. And I think when it all ends up, it\u2019s going to end […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[181],"tags":[232,12883,1297,4805,566,12675,12712,12064,2558,4004,9820,12681,9372,9275,5028,1840,7654,6487,11406,13078],"class_list":["post-16396","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-government","tag-attorney-general","tag-cares-act","tag-cdc","tag-chicago-il","tag-china","tag-coronavirus","tag-covid-19","tag-donald-j-trump","tag-hypertension","tag-minneapolis-mn","tag-new-york-city","tag-opportunity-zones","tag-russia","tag-saudi-arabia","tag-seattle-wa","tag-texas","tag-u-s-department-of-justice","tag-u-s-president","tag-washignton-d-c","tag-william-barr"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16396","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16396"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16396\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16397,"href":"https:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16396\/revisions\/16397"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16396"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16396"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16396"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}