The Daily Signal - Armstrong Williams Discusses How America Can Move Forward After Floyd Death

Episode Date: June 11, 2020

Armstrong Williams, host of "The Armstrong Williams Show" joins the Daily Signal Podcast to discuss racism in America, privilege, peaceful protests, and the way forward for America. We also cover these stories: George Floyd's brother, Philonise Floyd, testifies before the House Judiciary Committee. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell attacks the New York Times for its' refusal to defend publishing an op-ed by Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark. A streaming service temporarily removes "Gone With the Wind," saying the movie has racist depictions. The Daily Signal Podcast is available on Ricochet, Apple Podcasts, Pippa, Google Play, or Stitcher. All of our podcasts can be found at DailySignal.com/podcasts. If you like what you hear, please leave a review. You can also leave us a message at 202-608-6205 or write us at [e-mail]. Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is the Daily Signal podcast for Thursday, June 11th. I'm Virginia Allen. And I'm Kate Trinco. Today, we feature our colleague Rachel Dill Judas' interview with Armstrong Williams, host of the Armstrong Williams Show. They discuss the killing of George Floyd, racism in America, and more. Don't forget, if you're enjoying this podcast, please be sure to leave a review or a five-star rating on Apple Podcasts and encourage others to subscribe. Now on to our top news. And Capitol Hill Wednesday, Philones Floyd testified before the House Judiciary Committee. Here's some of what he had to say via CBS. George always made sacrifices for our family, and he made sacrifices for complete strangers.

He gave the little that he had to help others. He was our gentle giant. I was reminded of that when I watched the video of his murder. He called all the officers. sir. He was mild-mannered. He didn't fight back. He listened to all the officers. The man who took his life, who suffocated him for eight minutes and 46 seconds, he still called him, sir, as he begged for his life. I can't tell you the kind of pain you feel when you watch something like that. When you watch your big brother, who you looked up to your

whole entire your life, die, die begging for his mom? I'm tired. I'm tired of pain. Pain you feel when you watch something like that. When you watch your big brother, who you looked up to for your whole life, die, die begging for his mom, I'm here to ask you to make it stop. Representative Jim Jordan, Republican of Ohio, and the top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee said this via BBC news. Mr. Floyd, the murder of your brother in the custody of the Minneapolis police is a tragedy. Never should have happened. It's as wrong as wrong can be, and your brother's killers will face justice. Jordan also said this. There are 330 million people in this great country, the greatest nation ever, not perfect, but the best nation ever. And they understand, they understand, the American

people understand it's time for a real discussion, real debate, real solutions about police treatment of African Americans. Americans also understand that peaceful protest exercising their First Amendment liberties honors George Floyd's memory and it helps that discussion, that debate, and those solutions actually happen. The people of this great country, you know what else they understand? You know what else they get? They understand that there is a big difference, a big difference between peaceful protest and rioting. There is a big difference between peaceful protest and looting. There is a big difference between peaceful protests and violence and attacking innocent people. And there is certainly a big difference between peaceful protest and killing

police officers. New evidence has come to light that George Floyd and Derek Chauvin, the officer charged with second-degree murder for Floyd's death, were not only former co-workers, but had a history of tension with one another. David Pinni worked at El Nuevo Rodeo Club when Floyd and Chauvin both worked security for the nightclub together, and he told CBS News that the two, quote, bumped heads. When asked about the reason for the tension between the two men, Penny said it has a lot to do with Derek being extremely aggressive within the club with some of the patrons, which was an issue. Penny also told CBS that he does not doubt that Chauvin knew Floyd and recognized him on the day he arrested him and proceeded to press his knee to Floyd's neck for nearly nine minutes. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell criticized the New York Times in a speech on the Senate floor on Wednesday. The Times opinion editor, James Bennett, resigned recently due to the uproar from the New York Times staffers over the opinion.

section publishing an op-ed by Senator Tom Cotton, Republican of Arkansas, about potentially using troops to keep order amid the riots in the aftermath of the killing of George Floyd, via Politico. In the last several years, Madam President, the New York Times has published opeds from Vladimir Putin, the foreign minister of Iran, and a leader of the Muslim Brotherhood. They have published an essay arguing for greater normalization of pedophilia. As far as I know, none of those decisions occasioned public revolts from the paper's staff, hand-wringing apologies from the editors, or an overhaul of the masthead.

Presumably, it was understood that pushing the envelope and erring disagreements are necessary in a free market of ideas. But one week ago, the gray lady finally met her match. Vladimir Putin? No problem. Iranian propaganda? Sure. But nothing, nothing could have prepared them for 800 words from the junior senator from Arkansas. Senator Cotton wrote an op-ed explaining a position which one survey found 58% of Americans agreed with.

He argued that leadership in several cities had proven they either couldn't or wouldn't stop the riots. So President Trump should use federal troops to secure the peace, as several presidents have in our history. His view was controversial? No question. But there's also no question it was a legitimate view for a senator to express. Oh, but the facts couldn't hold it. facts couldn't hold a candle to the hurt feelings. Two statues of Christopher Columbus were damaged by rioters on Tuesday night. In Richmond, Virginia, an eight-foot statue of Columbus located in Bird Park was pulled down

with ropes and dragged into a lake about 200 yards away. The base of the statue was covered with graffiti, and a sign reading, Columbus represents genocide, was set on top of the base where the monument used to sit. protesters were present holding signs that read, This land is Powhatan land, and Columbus represents genocide. In Boston, a statue of Columbus was beheaded in the city's park named after the explorer. The head was left laying at the base of the statue. Police are investigating the situation.

The Boston monument was defaced before in 2015, when it was splashed with red paint, and its base was spray painted with the words, Black Lives Matter. and in 2006 when the statue's head was stolen and found days later but was able to be repaired. Gone with the Wind, the classic film depicting life in the South during and immediately after the Civil War, is leaving the HBO Max Library for now. An anonymous HBO Max spokesperson told NPR,

Gone with the Wind is a product of its time and depicts some of the ethnic and racial prejudices that have, unfortunately, been commonplace and, American society. These racist depictions were wrong then and are wrong today, and we felt that to keep this title up without an explanation and a denouncement of those depictions would be irresponsible. When it returns, HBO Max plans to provide additional historical context, although the streaming service won't alter the movie itself per NPR. Next up, we have Rachel's interview with Armstrong Williams, where they'll discuss George Floyd's death. It's our priority at the Daily Signal to keep you informed during the coronavirus pandemic.

Here's an important message from the White House Coronavirus Task Force. Taking care of your mental health is critically important as we stay indoors more often. It's important that people get enough sleep because we know sleep promotes mental health. It's important that you get exercise when you can while still engaging in proper social distancing. And most importantly, seek help if you need it. Telehealth services are available and call a friend if you just need someone to talk to. Now more than ever, we want you to pay attention to your mental health. We're joined today on the Daily Signal podcast by Armstrong Williams, who is host of the Armstrong

Williams show, a nationally syndicated TV program. He also is a columnist for the Daily Signal. Armstrong, it's great to have you on the Daily Signal podcast. It is my pleasure. Thank you for inviting me. Well, you and I had talked recently about your perspective on the kill. of George Floyd. Can you share with us what was going through your mind when you saw that coverage? I kept going in and out of what I was actually watching a movie. Our Netflix series was this real life. And after much agony, I realized it was real life. I mean, George, no matter what people

may think about his character and his past and his history, and I'm sure people do a very good job of putting that on undisplaying and rendering judgment on it. I mean, listen, no human being. No human being, especially given the fact that he did not resist arrest.

He was clearly not a threat to Officer Derek Dolphin and the other three officers. It was clear that there was something that's going on with him. It was noted that he may have been

ill before, but to treat him less than human being and to watch their life leave his body. You know, many of us don't get an opportunity to see that in real life. We normally see it in the movies, but you could see him gasping for his last breath. And you have to ask yourself what happened to those unusual law enforcement officers in their lives in their childhood that could make them so cold and so callous and behaves like the thugs they tried to rid the streets of. It's just just really, it's really sad. I mean, it was a sad moment in history. It was. Well, you've talked about the looters and vandalism in Minnesota and how all the protesters, some were walking peacefully, some were not as peaceful. So what is your message to those who have

been peaceful, but also to those who have been more violent? Well, you know, America is about peaceful protests. Nothing really ever gets done without peaceful protests. And, you know, I would defend their right to protest, just like I hope for someone to try to find mine not to. We all have our different weapons and how we want to bring about change. And certainly being in Washington, D.C., I saw it firsthand. And those who use their occasion of pain and

saying I'm fed up with this kind of images that disproportionately happened to Americans who happen to be black for those to create looting and vandalism and burning police precincts they could care less about

George Florida or anybody else it was an opportunity to show themselves in terms of their character, their integrity and if they could have gotten away with burning down cities. I mean, and some of these people could have been people from other neighborhoods who are hired, who just hate the American way of life and would love nothing but to use this opportunity to further divide us

and to bring about destruction. We cannot find ourselves getting manipulated and baited into that kind of mindset. We have to weed them out. I thought the president would threaten to bring in the military, even though I did not necessarily agree with bringing in the military. I definitely don't want to go back to the days of tyranny, but I do think that the governors and everybody else need to exercise law and order. And while you protect people's right to protest,

you must protect businesses and institutions and hotels and restaurants who work hard and long to create jobs and opportunities for the American economy. And you know, this economy has already suffered from COVID-19 and just go and destroy people. I mean, it's not as if they say, well, I'm just going to destroy the affluent. I'm just going to destroy the brands. When you're destroying businesses, you have no idea who owns these brands and who owns these restaurants. And what happened was it's just people of all walks a lot who ask themselves,

I happen to be an American and black. Why are you destroying my workplace? And I agree with what you agree with because they don't care about you. They don't care about your workplace. They only care about their agenda. And thank God, it seems that that has kind of. to a screech and halt here in this country. Once, what are you spoken about how people can determine whether or not they might harbor

racist tendencies? And you mentioned several points in those thoughts that you shared. And can you kind of walk us through those points that you talked about? You know, I was actually surprised at the kind of feedback. I even had honors of major companies to call me and ask and tell me how they read the and how much it impacted them it made them think. And, you know, where most people think others are racist. You know, and you accuse people of these unimaginable atrocities.

But you've got to explore what your deep thoughts are within. You've got to ask yourself questions that make you very uncomfortable. I mean, even when you hear about a terrorist attack, a sniper, or a sniper, or a serious, killer, are you hoping that the person is not black and you're relieved when you realize they're white? Then obviously you're harboring racist thoughts. And when you hear about someone committing a crime, do you automatically go to what you normally see in the media headline? You assume that person is black. You know, it's no different than I saw this video with someone who happens to be white was driving on the highway. Obviously, she had an infraction. And the police officer,

Clearly on the video said you seem nervous and she said, I am, I don't really going to get shot. She said, oh, the police officer said this, Rachel, we only shoot black people. You have nothing to worry about your wife. Clearly, that is a blatant racist statement from law enforcement. And he may have said it in jest, but to say that, and she was just disheveled by what he says. And, you know, I love kids. It doesn't matter. When I see babies, it just warns me.

I love children. It matters not to me. what the race of the baby is, how the baby is dressed. I just love babies. Do you pause when you're about to hug a baby to ask whether the baby is white or black or whether you hug the baby and find an excuse. Well, I don't want to engage with somebody else's children because that's a very sensitive issue. I mean, and do you go to neighborhoods and when you hear that somebody black is moving in the neighborhood?

Do you feel that somehow another devalues your parents? property and you're uncomfortable, you feel unease about it because you have the stereotype that they devalue the neighborhood. Or if you are in a school and your teacher is teaching what would be considered to be ethnic studies and you walk in the classroom and you realize the teacher's not black, but the teacher's white. And are you offended because you don't think there's nothing that this white person could know about ethnic studies and black American history? And all of a sudden, you want to pull your kid out of the class. So that just doesn't happen on one side.

It happens on both sides. And did you vote for President Trump because he was white? Did you vote for him because you thought he was the best choice in terms of the values and the direction you wanted to see the country? If you voted for him because you want somebody white and the white house, and clearly, it was a racist thought. No different than Obama. Did you vote for Obama because he was black?

Were you proud because you had a black man in the white house? We understand the history. We understand how far America has come. But if you clearly vote. voted him. Now, that may be a bonus, but did you vote for him because of his intellect? Because he was prepared. He had the right message that resonated with you. You felt he could bring the country together? All these things that people have to ask themselves. And do you feel more comfortable working around someone that looks like you, a don't look like you? I mean,

it goes to try to paint this broad brush that racism and it can only be perpetrated by somebody else. It's absolutely ridiculous. We've also spoken about how people make too many generalizations when it comes to someone who might support President Trump and still be outraged by what happened to George Floyd. There are many people across the country that hold that value where they're, you know, they support the president, but they just are, you know, so saddened and outraged by what happened to George Floyd. So how would you encourage people to be more honest in this way? or some people say, well, you couldn't support the president, but also be outraged with what happened. You know, we'd like to talk about how it is so difficult to change behavior and conditioning and who you are and who you are will always present itself, no matter how much you try to be someone that you're not.

And unfortunately, Rachel, people have been the way they are for so long that they refuse to change. because why? They refuse to believe a higher truth. For me, though I've invested so much in my value system and what I believe, if you, anybody else, if I'm having a conversation and we're interacting, and you take them to a higher truth, I would abandon that ideology. I would abandon that philosophy immediately because what I care about and what I strive for, no matter how many decades, if decades I may have invested in that philosophy, ideology, I'm going to embrace it because it's truth which I seek, and it's only truth that can set you free. And so even for me, who happens to be an American, and there's no question, I'm privileged. And what do I say

privilege? Because people assume that when you say privilege, you have to be white, you have to be something other than black, that in order to be a minority, you have to be struggling, you have to be poor, You've got to be griping about racism. You've got to be complaining about the system, the prison system. You've got to talk about defunding police officers around the country like what they're doing in Minnesota. And that's just a blatant stereotype. It's ridiculous. And because I am conservative and I believe in the Second Amendment, I don't believe in abortion.

I believe we should limit immigrants coming into this country. I do think we should take China to task about. tariffs and his trade. I do think it's healthy when I see the president in the past meeting with Kim Jong-un, and he's not talking about raining down missiles on American cities, but he's talking about dialogue, and obviously there's been a change. I mean, I, and even in the prison reform, and so I support those because of policies, not necessarily because I agree with the president, that I'm going to vote for the president, but the moment you say that you agree, with anything, you embrace anything that Trump has done that's good for this economy,

that's good for this country, and good for us globally, immediately you're racist, you're not in touch with your community, you don't care about what happens to George Florida and these other clearly, clearly situations where role police officers are out of control. And that doesn't define us. I am not defined by one issue. I'm not a one issue person. There's more to America than race. America has a severe problem with the breakdown of family. America has a severe problem with crime. America has some very serious issues with how we return manufacturing to our economy

because we're too dependent on the Chinese. We have some serious. America has these issues with how do we get the economy back. I mean, you have about 35 or 40 million Americans that are filed for unemployment. There are so many issues. People think that when you talk about racist, the only issue that matters in America. And when I say something like this, people say you're out of tune because you can say this because you're privileged. No, it's because all of us, depending on what we're doing life, depending on our value system, while your issue may not be as important to me as it is to you, I still find value in your issue.

But don't expect me to get worked up and go out and protest just like you. But it doesn't mean I don't care about the issue in it less. We've also mentioned how the police force should be slow to hire and quick to fire. So what kind of reforms Armstrong do you think law enforcement should work in their systems to make these things not happen again? You know, Derek Sheropen, Rachel, is the perfect example. How is it that someone had 17 infractions against them? And they removed the one jurisdiction to the next. and the reason why is that the Code Blue believes that if you discuss any of their prior infractions,

whether someone died during their arresting, or whether someone was injured, or whether you use a chokehold, or you put your knee on someone's neck before, which was clearly shown in his record, you cannot pass those records on to the next jurisdiction. That must change. There is no way you cannot share that information, Because listen, that is a pattern. As I said earlier in our conversation, if someone reveals themselves to you, believe them.

That's who he is, and he's not going to change it. What you do by not sharing his record, you would enable him to become an even more dangerous monster. And while it may be a smaller fraction, slapping someone a baton when they're driving too fast, throwing somebody to the ground and handcuffing them in a violent way, putting your knee on their neck as he's done in the past, the person that died at that time,

It's only a matter of time before this comes full circle, and you have the kind of chaotic and volatile situation. We have now. That should not exist. Those people should be slow to hire. You should know about their background. You should know about their mental capacity when they were training. You should know about their background, whether they experienced abuse, the kinds of things that they may have done growing up, whether they've got a habit.

I just use this crazy example of killing cats, killing animals. that tells you something about the psyche of a person. And so until you do that research and find out about the mental and also the behavior pattern of that officer, you should be slow to hire. But then when you begin to see that behavior creep in, because sometimes somebody doesn't always cross-reference and no one always shared the same records, and sometimes you have those records, you can be distracted, you never took a chance to do a deep diet to read about this person's past.

But once you begin to see that this is happening, you see this behavior, they should be quick to fire. So yes, slow to hire, making sure you do your due diligence, and then once you see this behavior pattern emerging, you fire them quickly. And the other thing is, I agree about the chokehold and how you use your weapon and how you treat these citizens when you are arresting officer. Because remember, 90% of them rates never pull out their gun. they never use the baton, the baton, they never use the taser. They use their experience. The fact that they have the badge, they have the gun, they have the baton, they have the taser. They have the strength of that position.

And that position, which gives them authority and the way to communicate with the person they're about the rest, they know how to diffuse and calm the situation. And so if 90% of them can do that, there is no doubt of the skin. Now, if somebody's pulling out a gun and they're starting to shoot you and resist the arrest, that's a different story. There are always exceptions. There's common sense. But yes, there needs to be reformed and the police, and they need to be slow, they should be slow hard and quick to far.

Well, Armstrong, looking at the past over your life, how has racism evolved in the U.S. that you've seen growing up? And do you think America is inherently racist or not? You know, I hate to disappoint your listeners. And this is no secret of people who know me. For me personally, I've never explained. It's never impacted my life on the farm in South Carolina in the educational system in South Carolina at South Carolina State University in Orangeburg to my working for Senator Strong-Thurman and my being in the real estate business in the hotel business and only in broadcast stations

across America's day. It's really had no impact on my life. Now, my brothers to a less extent have talked about issues of being slighted and racism, but even theirs does not come close to anything of the stories you hear from people about how they are denied opportunities and promotions and access because of their race on jobs and on boards and education and in the legal community and the medical community. I've talked to people who have had these issues, but I also believe this. for people who believe that the reason why they've not progressed in America and because they feel this anger and bitterness because they don't believe the American dream for them,

if they believe that it's all because of racism, then that's not true either. Racism may be some of the issue, but what really helps and impacts the outcome of your life more than anything else are the choices that you make every day because there's one thing I realize that the heart. hardest work I do every day, Rachel, is working on Armstrong Williams. And I find when I work on Armstrong Williams 24-7, the world automatically improves around me and also I improve.

And so with all of us, people don't have the same drive. They don't have the same work after. Sometimes you're just not born with the same opportunities, but we've seen people who are not necessarily born into an affluent family and a two-parent household, and they come out of it with amazing, amazing stories. I mean, they've come out with, they made some of the most amazing contributions to the world. I mean, just amazing contributions. When you think about people who've come out of the Holocaust, who come out of slavery, and yet you ask yourself, they defied all odds because I think there's a spiritual currency for those that struggle. And sometimes people want to use the past their history as an excuse, not to achieve. And

they said they're being burdened by the anguish of slavery. I mean, listen, you cannot tell me that what happened two or three hundred years ago is the reason why you today cannot progress and do better for your family, do better for yourself, do better for your community, and do better for the country. And so, yes, while some of this, while race may pay a role, it plays far lesser of a role than people want to get credit for it. racism is not the answer and the solution for what ails America today. And the other thing about it, too, that I've learned from my parents is this.

What I meet people, I do not see their race. I see their humanity. I extend my hand and I say I'm Armstrong. I come with no prejudgments, no preconceptions. And what happens in America today when you say, why? That's supposed to mean something because that's what the media tells us. And the media is the main engine that places this way. edge between people in this country and further divide them with what they tell us who we are.

If it leaves, it leaves. The images you see, I mean, because listen, racism, when it comes to law enforcement, only matters when it's a white police officer killing someone who's black. It doesn't matter if it's white or white. It doesn't matter if the police officer kills somebody. Why? It doesn't matter if blacks kill each other. I mean, just in Chicago, in the last two weeks, in the last 60 years, they've

had the most deaths in one day. 18 deaths in one day is unprecedented. Can you imagine if whites were killing blacks or law enforcement were killing blacks? Would that matter the black lives? That's the lack of credibility for black lives matter because they only care when it involves law enforcement especially of someone who's white killing someone is black. And listen, that has to change. I mean, it has to change.

And I know people find it politically incorrect. They say this because, listen, you could end all white shootings of black children tomorrow, Rachel. And it would have zero effect on the death rate of black children by homicide. Because such white on black shootings are extremely rare. While we denounce it, we say it's a moral. We say it's murder. There's never an exception for killed someone like what we saw with George. But however, as far as interracial violence generally, blacks disproportionately committed.

And they don't want to hear it. And that should matter. Listen, between 2012 and 2015, there were 631,830 violent interracial victimizations. And I'm not even talking about homicide. I'm talking about between blacks or whites, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics. These are not not statistics. blacks who make up about 13 to 14% of this population committed 85.5% of those victimizations. All right, let's just say about 600,000 felonious assaults on whites, while whites,

61% of the population, Rachel, committed 14% of the 91,000 felonious assaults on blacks. So regarding threats to blacks from the police, a police officer is 19 times more likely to be killed by a black man that an unarmed black man is to be killed by police officers. People don't want to hear that because it's not good copy. It does not fuel the agenda. And so if Black Live Matters really want to say black children from the trauma of urban violence, they should put their efforts into rebuilding inner city culture, above all. And you've got to do that.

You've got to bring that credibility to marriage before having children. This fantasies about white violence against black bodies and white people hate black people. It's a distraction for what is actually happening on American streets. And I don't say that to take anything away from George Floyd's life, the fact that he did not get to live out his dream, whatever that was. It does not excuse Derek Schopen and the police officers that watch this because all Americans condemn that nonsense. But, and listen, whites are killed by police officers. They're assaulted by police officers. Asians are two.

The debt does not make copy because it doesn't sell well for the mainstream media. Well, Armstrong, given your perspective here, how do you think America should move forward in these times? Rachel, I'll tell you, simple. When I watched George Floyd in the way he died, I did not see a black man. I saw a human being. And I was outraged.

I just outraged. And when I saw Derek Schroederer, Chopin and his colleagues, I did not see a white man, a black police officer. I saw that something is deeply wrong with law enforcement. Until we care about human life, it doesn't matter what the race. And until we condemn the perpetrator, not because of race, but because of the behavior and the crime that they're committing at the time, not much is it going to change. People get outraged based on the color and sometimes based on the gender and sometimes based on the

sexual preference or someone. We've got to understand all humanity has value. And we've entrusted law enforcement with the trust that first do no harm. And when those few rogue officers violate that, they should not be protected. They should not be acquitted. They should be punished to the full extent of the law at a greater price than an ordinary citizen because we place a premium on who they are. Why?

Because their behavior was disgusting. It was pathetic and it was murderous. It was not about race, but it was about the behavior. And until we get there, we will have these conversations in the future because all lives should matter. It's the only way we unify when we see the behavior and not the race. Well, Armstrong, thank you so much for joining us on the Daily Signal podcast. We appreciate having you.

Oh, it is my pleasure. Thank you for having me. And that'll do it for today's episode. Thanks for listening to the Daily Signal podcast. We appreciate your patience as we record. remotely during these weeks. Please be sure to subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, or Spotify, and please leave us a review or a rating on Apple Podcasts to give us your feedback.

Stay healthy and we'll be back with you tomorrow. The Daily Signal podcast is brought to you by more than half a million members of the Heritage Foundation. It is executive produced by Kate Shrenko and Rachel Del Judas. Sound design by Lauren Evans, Philea Rampersad, Mark Geinie, and John Pop. For more information, visit Daily Signal, com.