The shootings broke out near the end of a peaceful march through downtown Dallas by mostly black demonstrators after the police shootings of black men last week in Minnesota and Louisiana.
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Obama “is keenly aware that there are politicians in Washington, D.C., that when it comes to significant incidents of gun violence, that they close their eyes and they hold their ears and they wish it away”, Earnest said. “We must reject such despair”.
Dallas police ultimately killed the shooter, Micah Johnson, who said he “wanted to kill white people, especially white officers”, by sending a robot loaded with a bomb into the parking garage where he was near the shooting.
Obama’s trip to Dallas – just weeks after another somber journey to Orlando following a nightclub massacre that claimed 49 lives – will offer the backdrop for his most extensive public statements following last week’s bloodshed. Rawlings spoke steps from five empty chairs and five portraits of the dead officers. He will attend and speak at a private, interfaith memorial service, and former President George W. Bush will also deliver remarks.
Bush said the slain officers were “the best among us”. But there’s unity in recognizing that this is not how we want our communities to operate.
“This is where his gifts of having a sense of balance and calm really shine”, Kirk said, adding that references to the racial divide in the country were inevitable. Obama’s choice of traveling companions underscored the theme. We must lead the state of Texas on race relations in America.
But the White House press briefing room is far different than a memorial service, where a partisan speech could come across as crass, especially with Bush, U.S. Sens. He described the attack as deeply personal.
Portions of both shootings were recorded and broadcast nationwide, leading to outrage, protests and scores of arrests.
Some law enforcement leaders have been highly critical of Obama, accusing him of heightening racial tensions by encouraging Black Lives Matter and calling out police misconduct. Obama sought to begin bridging those issues with his tribute to the fallen five, who included a former Army Ranger, a Navy veteran and a newlywed starting a second family.
In his remarks, Obama will reprise an all-too-familiar role as consoler-in-chief, making the case that despite fear and anger provoked by the recent spasm of violence, the nation can overcome its toughest challenges on racial issues.
In his speech, Obama’s task is to “find a point of transcendence – one that transcends both the Black Lives Matter movement and the police feeling that they’re under siege”, says Martin Medhurst, a professor of rhetoric and communication at Baylor University in Waco, Texas.
Meanwhile, Obama has criticized by others for going to Dallas before visiting Louisiana or Minnesota, a sign that he aligning with police over protesters.
Attorney General Loretta Lynch made a similar comment about Dallas being a hate crime in a meeting with police officials on Friday, Mr. Pasco said, but Mr. Obama “was even more adamant on it”.
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The president, joined by his wife, Michelle, and Vice President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, will also meet privately with the families of the slain officers as well as the injured to convey the support and gratitude for their service and sacrifice that has been expressed around the country.
