Joe Biden visits George Floyd protest site, tells Americans to find purpose amidst the pain

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• Former vice president visits the site where a George Floyd protest was held, encourages demonstrators to express their frustration peacefully.
• Protests were initially calm, but it turned violent with the destruction of properties, followed by looting of some individuals on business establishments.
• On Sunday, President Donald Trump ridiculed Biden and blamed media and other activists for the escalating violence.

On Sunday afternoon, former Vice President Joe Biden went out to visit protesters in Wilmington, Delaware, where demonstrations erupted over the killing of African-American George Floyd.

As seen in photos and videos uploaded to his Instagram account, Biden was seen wearing a mask and chatting with people at the protest site.

Biden, who only had two public appearances in the last two months, said that while the country is now in pain, Americans should never let the situation destroy them.

Protests started peacefully in several cities, but it turned chaotic by Saturday evening. Delaware News Journal reported that several marchers began raiding business establishments as evening comes.

Delaware Gov. John Carney said the following morning that only a small group of protesters looted the area and praised most Wilmingtonians who demonstrated peacefully.

Just a few hours after Gov. Carney commented, protesters by the hundreds flooded the roads again, chanting Floyd’s name and demanding that police violence should end.

The death of Floyd last Monday while under arrest by Minneapolis police officers ignited the demonstrations.

Footage of Floyd being knelt on his neck by former police officer Derek Chauvin has surfaced online. Floyd was seen shouting that he can’t breathe while Chauvin continued to pin him on the ground.

On Sunday evening, Wilmington Mayor Mike Purzycki has put the city under a state of emergency, and the following day, he enforced a curfew between 9:30 p.m. to 6 a.m.

Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, Biden, was one of the well-known politicians who encouraged protesters to go on and voice their ire and disappointments without the need for violence.

Biden said that protesting over Floyd and other people of color’s discrimination was the right response, but destroying properties and violence is unnecessary. He added that airing grievances in an orderly way does not outshine the purpose of protests.

Meanwhile, Trump’s campaign advisers reportedly urge the president to address the nationwide protests through a televised statement. However, the president was never seen in public right away on Sunday. Instead, he posted a series of tweets insulting Biden and pointing the finger at the media, anarchists, and left-leaning group,  Antifa, as the one to blame about the violence on America.

Source: AOL