Washington, D.C–During a daily press brief last week, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee, was asked her thoughts on the killing of Black people in America at the hands of police. She replied that these issues were local and not a matter for the White House.
The questions were presented by Journalist April Ryan–within the backdrop of news that officers involved in the shooting death of Alton Sterling would not face charges–as well as the killing of 20-year-old Stephon Clark and the protest happening in Sacramento.
Huckabee was also questioned by NBC News’ Kristen Welker:
WELKER: You said these are local issues. And with respect, this seems to be an issue that the entire country is grappling with…does the president not need to show leadership on this issue?
SANDERS: When the president has talked about a number of issues, we want to find ways to bring the country together. Certainly not looking for any place of division. I think you’ve seen that in the policies he’s put forward. He wants to grow the economy, he wants to do that for everybody. He wants a better America for every American and that’s been a repeated thing out of this White House. But when it comes to the authority to, uh, on the rulings that have taken place in the last few days, those are things that have to be done at a local level and they’re not federal decisions at this time.
WELKER: But Sarah, a lot of African-American moms all across the country feel as though their sons are dying. So doesn’t the president feel like he needs to do something about that?
SANDERS: I think we should do every single thing we can every single day to protect the people of this country. I think the president, whether they’re black, white, Hispanic, male or female, rich or poor, we look for ways to protect the individuals in this country, particularly, uh, children. That’s why you’ve seen the president take an active role over the last several months in school safety and looking at ways—we want to do that across the board, whether a kid is in a school, whether they’re at home, no matter where they are in this country, kids should feel safe. And that’s why this president has focused on safety and security as a big part of the priorities of this administration both through securing our borders, and stopping the flow of drugs, stopping the flow of gangs, stopping, um, the number of school shootings by the Stop School Violence Act, the background system. I’m not saying it’s perfect, and until every child is safe we can always do more, and we’re going to show up every day for work trying to do exactly that.
This explains the silence from our country’s political leaders in Washington in the wake of Stephon Clarkwho was killed by Sacramento Police this month, sparking protest and civil disruptions.
