Im erin burnett. Out front tonight, its not okay. On the day when the nation said a final goodbye to george floyd, whose death has sparked a National Movement on Police Brutality, the president chose to smear this man, 75yearold peaceful protester in buffalo who was shoved to the ground by police last week. The president of the United States tweeting without any evidence whatsoever that that protester could be an antifa agitator, and quote, i watched, he fell harder than was pushed. Could be a set up. A set up . I want to play the incident that trump is suggesting is a set up. It is difficult to watch. You see him there. Hes pushed. He falls. Then he has blood coming out of his ear. And i want to just note to you that this was five days ago. Gugino is still in the hospital. He was in the intensive care unit. Hes still in the hospital. The two officers have been charged with assault. Where the president of the United States come up with an absurd Conspiracy Theory about that 75yearold man being a member of antifa and purposely falling. He was watching the far right protrump network that aired a socalled report, based on a blog with no evidence. This isnt just an absurd thing. Its disturbing. It cant be dismissed or normalized anymore that this is how the president of the United States spends his time. It should not be partisan to say this is not okay and its inappropriate. While critics a and democrats c it dark, untrue, senator marco rubio said i didnt see it. Youre telling me about it. I didnt read twitter. Or john cornyn, quote, im not going to comment on the president s tweets. Here are three more for good measure. What about the president s tweet though . Was that appropriate, sir . As i said, we are discussing in the Senate Republican conference what response we think is appropriate to the events of the last two weeks. I just saw the tweet and i know nothing of the episode so i dont know. Im not as fixated, i guess, as some people. You saw the tweet this morning where he talked about the buffalo protester. Says he doesnt want to hear it. Nor does most of his republican colleagues. They just want to move on and not talk btabout it. On the one hand, we get it. They dont want President Trump to define them. Anybody would understand that, right . At this point, President Trumps tweets are the main way that he speaks to all americans and to the world, and they do define him. His tweets, therefore, matter. And it isnt okay anymore for people of good conscience to avoid them when they want to. So, there were some exceptions to the dodges and the claims of ignorance. Senator mitt romney nailed it. I saw the tweet. It was a shocking thing to say, and i wont dignify it with any further comment. And senator Lisa Murkowski called it, quote, it just makes no sense that were fanning the flames right at this time. All of this as the protests around the country continue. Simone prokupecz is outfront with protesters in new york city. Shimon, what is happening tonight . Reporter these are several protesters, marchers, who set off from Washington Square mark, went walking across third avenue. And again we are heading towards gracy mansion. That is where the mayor resides. And as you can see over here at the front line, much of the conversation here today with the demonstrators has been about Police Reform and what they want and what they would like to see. Of course the names of all the different people over the course of several years that have died at the hands of police. Those names have been chanted. You see a sign here with the different names of people who have died in encounters with police. And so this continues. Every night here as protesters take to the streets here in manhattan and really marches, erin for hours, this will go on for several more hours. All right, shimon, thank you very much. As you said here in the heart of new york city. I want to go to Kaitlan Collins at the white house. Kaitlan, any reaction behind the scenes on what the president chose to tweet about today, of course which is, you know, the 75yearold man who fell and is still in the hospital . Well, we asked the white house for comment on it. They havent commented on it so far. And as you saw, the president stayed behind closed doors today. We did see his chief of staff on capital hill. He said he learned a long time ago not to comment on the president s tweets. Thats clearly a feeling you saw a lot of republicans had though people behind the scenes are talking about it. They have not felt like what the president has said so far in response to George Floyds death and the unrest youve seen across the nation has really helped him politically. You saw the cnn poll that said over 60 of adults said what he said has been more harmful than helpful. White house aides were planning on a speech for the president to give to unify the nation, Police Reform proeasy potentialaposals. So, they dont view a tweet like this from the president as helpful to them, of course. But you havent seen any of the white house Officials Say that on the record. But it does make their days harder given that the president is floating this Conspiracy Theory. We should note that guginos attorneys said Law Enforcement never suggested anything sinister on what happened there on his behalf of course. I even spoke with a friend of his who said he wanted to make sure that people knew Martin Gugino is a real person with a real name. Hes not a faceless person. And thats who the president is attacking on twitter to his 80 million followers. Thank you very much, kaitlan. I want to go out front now to the democratic eerie county executive who is home to buffalo, new york, where this incident happened where the president tweeted. You have the president accusing a 75yearold man, Martin Gugino, of being an antifa provok tor. He said he fell harder than pushed. We saw blood coming out of his head and hes still in the hospital. Whats your response to the president . First of all, its good to be with you. The president s tweets were unconscionable. Today should have been about george floyd and his funeral. Instead the president is coming up with a Conspiracy Theory that has no merit whatsoever. Mr. Gugino is still at the medical center. He did announce he has moved out of the intensive care unit and i can confirm that. And he also has been confirmed to me that he has been upgraded from a serious to fair condition. So, he is doing better. I think were all very pleased to hear that. But what the president did today was to put out a baseless Conspiracy Theory that has no merit whatsoever. And i know that because i was getting reports from Law Enforcement that night. And its never been accused that mr. Gugino is a member of antifa. Hes a wellknown peace activist, protests for Environmental Justice and social justice. And to smear his name like the president did without any basis in fact is reprehensible. I mean, you know and i know you mentioned it there, that hes wellknown and obviously was peacefully protesting. But just to be clear here, have you seen any indication that he did anything wrong or he had any intentions of doing anything other than peacefully protesting . We have no indications of that. As you could see from the video, he approaches the line by himself. There was a line of Police Officers. While it may have been past curfew, he did not pose any threat to the officers. Were all very sorry about the incident that happened. Charged have been alleged against two officers and the judicial process will go through now. The problem is we had that incident and we had an incident last month in which a Police Officer following a protester was run over by a state trouper who is also in the hospital and recovering. So, we have these multiple incidences. Our community was a tinderbox. Weve had a number of days of very peaceful protests, and it has been peaceful on all sides. There are some that are protesting for Law Enforcement, others that are protesting against Racial Injustice and Police Brutality. And theyve been peaceful. Then the president issues a tweet today which is basically like throwing a match on a tinderbox trying to make an allegation with no merit whatsoever. Our community is trying to heal from the incident of last thursday as well as the incident of last monday. We are doing it peacefully. And then the president comes out with a tweet that has no merit whatsoever. I know that. I have the direct communications from Law Enforcement. It makes no sense especially when we should be hon forhadding t the life of george floyd today. What do you think happened in that moment . I know the two officers involved have been suspended, charged with assault. Theyve pleaded not guilty. Theyve been released. The 57 members of the buffalo Response Team had resigned from the unit in support of those officers. What should happen here . Was there any mentalintent . I dont think there was malintent. I cant imagine the officers wanted to push him down. There was another video from across Niagara Square where you could see mr. Guginos head snap back and hit the ground. You could hear his head hit the ground. I cant imagine the officers were intended that. Were talking about a 75yearold man. So, its very important that we realize that while there may not have been intent to cause serious injury, they did push him. And under the law, that is a potential assault. Now, it is before the District Attorney now. It is going to go before the courts. And the judicial process needs to move forward. Theyre entitled to due process. They are presumed innocent until proven guilty. I think our community is going to be working to ensure that the right thing is done not only in this situation here so that they get their due process, but also so that we address Police Brutality and injustice not just in eerie county and the city of buffalo but across our country. I was part of a peaceful protest that marched from downtown to another part of the city of buffalo where there were 5,000 of us. And i think each of us are just looking to change what has been unfortunately a bad system. We know that being a Police Officer is very different. Many of them serve well. Most of them serve well. But for the ones that are not, we need to remove them. Mark, a appreciate your time. Thank you. Thank you. Next, a 28yearold black man pulled over for speeding, moments later dead. Shot by an officer after a struggle, so what happened. Plus a final goodbye to george floyd, one of floyds close friend who is pointed to floyd as a role model. Trumps base has been with him since the beginning. Is it Strong Enough for him to win . As a struggling actor, i need all the breaks that i can get. At liberty butchumal cut. Liberty biberty cut. Well dub it. Liberty mutual customizes your Car Insurance so you only pay for what you need. Only pay for what you need. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. To my retirement days than ii am my college days. I just want to know, am i gonna be okay . I know people who specialize in am i going to be okay. You may need glasses though. Guidance to help you stay on track. Stand up to moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis. And take. It. On. With rinvoq. Rinvoq a oncedaily pill. Can dramatically improve symptoms. Rinvoq helps tame pain, stiffness, swelling. And for somerinvoq can even significantly reduce ra fatigue. Thats rinvoq relief. With ra, your overactive immune system. Attacks your joints. Rinvoq regulates it to help stop the attack. Rinvoq can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. Serious infections and blood clots, sometimes fatal, have occurred. As have certain cancers, including lymphoma, tears in the stomach or intestines, and changes in lab results. Your doctor should monitor your bloodwork. Tell your doctor about any infections. And if you are or may become pregnant while taking rinvoq. Take on ra talk to your rheumatologist about rinvoq relief. Rinvoq. Make it your mission. If you cant afford your medicine, abbvie may be able to help. Theand we want to thank times, the Extraordinary People in the healthcare community, working to care for all of us. At novartis, we promise to do our part. As always, were doing everything we can to help keep cosentyx accessible and affordable. If you have any questions at all, call us, email us, visit us online. Were here to help support you when you need us. Take care, and be well. To learn more, call one eight four four cosentyx or visit cosentyx. Com tonight, echos of george floyd, newly released video of a black man telling officers i cant breathe. He was tased multiple times in texas. Its one of several videos revealing encounters between police and people of color. Some of the videos are disturbing. It is all too horribly familiar. Stop resisting. Even the dying words of the victim sound the same, but if you think you know these cases, you probably dont. March 28, 2019, austin texas, sheriffs deputies pursuing javier ambler. Police say ambler had not dimmed his headlights as he drove past a deputy and ambler led them on a 22minute chase. Body camera footage captures what happens during his arrest. Ambler exited his car with his hands up. He was not intoxicated or armed. Officers say ambler resisted police attempts to restrain him and refused their commands. Ambler can be heard telling deputies he has a heart condition. The officers tased ambler multiple times and the body camera video shows him going into distress. Hes heard saying i cant breathe. Shortly afterwards officer realize ambler is no longer responsive. They remove his handcuffs and administer cpr. Javier ambler is pronounced dead less than an hour later. The investigation is ongoing. T t february 29th of this year, new mexico, it begins as a traffic stop. Police say they learned after they stopped him that Antonio Valenzuela has an open warrant for parole violation. According to the local attorney generals, valuenzuela runs awa. Officers taze him twice. According to the District Attorney, on the ground, valenzuela continues to struggle. Im going to choke out out, bro. One of the officers applies a choke hold. Ems is called to the scene and begin lifesaving measures but are unsuccessful. The officer who used the neck restraint has been charged with involuntary manslaughter. His lawyer did not immediately respond to cnns request for comment. May 23rd, garden state parkway, new jersey. 28yearold Maurice Gordon is pulled over for speeding according to the state Attorney Generals Office which just released this video. When gordons car wont restart, state trouper Randall Wetzel tells him to sit in the Police Cruiser to stay out of traffic. The officer offers gordon a mask and the dash cam footage seems routine. Then gordon unfastens his seat belt and appears to get out of the car. The officer orders him back and the struggle begins. According to the Attorney Generals Office, gordon twice tried to get into the driver seat. The first time the officer uses pepper spray on gordon. Then after a second attempt, another struggle. And eventually six gunshots. Gordon collapses to the road and dies. And we reached out to trooper wetzel but so far we have not heard an answer back. Meanwhile the governor of new jersey says that case will go to a grand jury to determine whether or not charges will be filed against the state trouper. And of course well continue to follow that case and the many others like it. Martin, thank you very much. I want to go out front to william wag staff, the attorney for maurice jordans family. Trying to help the family get answers about maurices death. William, let me start with you. That video just released 16 days after gordons death. What do you want everyone to know about what happened . Well, i think its very interesting that at the outset the Attorney Generals Office stonewalled the family. I had to insist for multiple days up until the week after he had passed to try to even see the video to try to give the family some comfort. The only information the family was that their son was dead, they had no problem releasing biographical information about mr. Gordon to the public, however would give the family no information. Who was his killer . Did he die on the scene . Did he die in the hospital . Did he die in an ambulance . When they allow me access to the video, they dont show me the entire encounter. There was to had conversation about restrictions to the amount i would see. I get there. My colleague and i stop the video with 15 minutes left and becomes hostile when they tell me if you keep pushing to see any more of the video, thats going to be the end of this meeting. So, they convincingly try to tell people this was justified. And i think this is at this point another institutional cover up. They have done nothing from the beginning to even reach out to the family. The governor has not called the mother, has not called the father. And then to add insult to injury, yesterday over my written objection to them releasing the video for public consumption before the family has opportunity to review it in private so they can process the video, get the opportunity to deal with their emotions, its on youtube for the family even learns about it. The mother and his sister are sitting doing preparations for the funeral, and they get Text Messages saying the video was on youtube. So, the new jersey state Attorney Generals Office found it appropriate for the world at large to see his last moments before his family was able to. So, shemar, what do you make of that and also to the point that william is saying you believe theres about 15 minutes of the video that are missing . You know, where is that video, and what do you think is on that . Why do you think you havent seen it, that it hasnt been released . Those are questions for the state attorney general. All of the information thats relevant to what happened to mr. Gordon should be released and promptly. I think its also very important to understand what happened to mr. Gordon in larger context of issues by the new jersey state troupers in term of racial profiling. The fj had nj state troupers were under federal monitoring for racial profiling. They were under significant lawsuit action for discriminating against black and brown officers. New jersey has the worst black to white incarceration rate in the country, 12 to 1 and 30 to 1 for children. Theres a longstanding issue in new Jersey State Police as well as local Law Enforcement in the state of new jersey. And this is part of the context in which we have to understand what happened to mr. Gordon. All evidence should be released and released promptly so the family can know what happened to mr. Gordon and the people can know whether or not the officers conduct was appropriate here. It seems clear if theyre going to put out any, you put it all out. That seems obvious. The parts of the video we do have, theyre difficult to watch but it is important as people try to understand what happened here. This video starts after the officer hands gordon a mask. Obviously this happened just a couple of weeks ago, presumably because of coronavirus, and then heres what happened. Get in car. [ bleep ]. So, they appear to scuffle, the officers repeatedly telling Maurice Gordon to get back in the car. Gordon appears to get into the drivers seat twice before he is fatally shot with the six shots. Do you have any knowledge at this point as to what happened, why gordon got out of the car, what he might have been doing, trying to do . If you look at the context of the entire stop, at the time that he exited the vehicle, he had been detained for probably 40 to 45 minutes. He was first in his own vehicle for 20 to 30 minutes. There was no information coming about where the tow truck was, whether or not he was going to receive a summons. And he exited his vehicle to try to find out what was happening. The trooper got out of his vehicle and met him halfway and then invited him to sit in his own car. Not withstanding him requiring to submit to a patdown which i dont believe that if it was a 40yearold white businessman that he would have had to submit to a patdown before sitting in the back of the a cruiser while waiting for a tow truck. He wasnt under arrest. But setting that aside, he gets in the back of the cruiser and now he twice tries to take his seat belt off. The trooper says put your seat belt back on which he applies with. Then hes no longer comfortable. If youre a black man in america and watch the way people of color interact with police after a few minutes of not being told youre under arrest, he appeared to me he was trying to leave to go back to his vehicle which the officer should have allowed him to go back to his vehicle. If you did not want him to leave the vehicle, engage him verbally. Dont engage him physically. Before you get to the point of using deadly force, there should be steps along the continuum before you kill this man on the side of the garden state parkway. I think it is important too when you add the 40 to 50 minutes, the patdown, i think this gives people the context they need to understand this better because we just have these clips. When you look at them on their own, you dont have that information. Shemar, the new jersey Attorney Generals Office, you know, they released audio and video of what they call five episodes. They have video missing but they have released what they want people to see. With gordon over the course of about 30 hours, the first involves 911 call, he said he looked panicked, he had said something about a paranormal experience. He was acting totally different. As you try to understand what happened here, the state of mind, how this could have possibly whether it was even relevant in this case of what happened do you feel you know at this point all the information . We absolutely dont know all the information which is why we need the state to release the evidence promptly so the family and the public can evaluate what happened. Whats important to understand here too is the overwhelming amount of interactions police have with civilians involve nonviolent civilians and often times relatively minor infractions. We had a report about someone didnt dim their lights enough. Speeding. People are speeding constantly on the new jersey turnpike. Officers have to understand that in this situation, they have to confirm that the individual was unarmed and he frisked him and knew he was unarmed. Officers have to use a variety of tactics that are nonviolent to deal with nonviolent situations. We have officers too quick to become authoritative and cause these situations to happen again with black people who are viewed as a threat in ways white people are not. Im confident if that was that officers white brother he would have dealt with him in a different way when he took his seat belt off. I appreciate your time very much. Well continue to follow mr. Gordons case. Next joe biden today honoring george floyd at todays emotional funeral. Unlike most, you must grieve in public. A burden that is now your purpose to change the world for the better in the name of george floyd. And a new report on how close President Trump came to firing his defense secretary the other day. You know whats good about this . Your signs pointing at my sign, so people are gonna look at my sign. Switch to progressive and you can save hundreds. You know, like the sign says. Lets be honest. Quitting smoking is hard. Like, quitting every monday hard. Quitting feels so big. So try making it smaller, and youll be surprised at how easily starting small can lead to something big. Start stopping with nicorette. A lot goes through your mind. With fidelity wealth management, your dedicated adviser can give you straightforward advice and tailored recommendations. Thats the clarity you get with fidelity wealth management. Youre looking at live pictures from new york. A large group of protesters taking to the streets near city hall just hours after george floyd was laid to rest, buried next to his mother, who he called out for as he was pinned down by police in minnesota. Hundred of families and friends filling a church in houston to demand justice for his legacy. Sara sidner is out front. Reporter a fourth and final farewell for george floyd, a man whose death has sparked new life into a movement. His family members breaking down in front of the casket just before his body was sealed inside forever. Let justice run down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream. I love you, and i thank god for giving me my own personal superman. He will take care no more hate crimes, please. Someone said make America Great again, but when has america ever been great . We must commit to this family all of these families, all five of his children, grandchildren, and all, that until these people pay for what they did, that were gonna be there with them because lives like george will not matter until somebody pays the cost for taking their lives. Unlike most, you must grieve in public and its a burden, a burden that is now your purpose to change the world for the better in the name of george floyd. Reporter among the 500 family and friends of floyd inside the fountain of praise church in houston, the black American Families who know the pain all too well, their children killed by police too. The family of fergusons michael brown, new yorks eric garner, and dallas botham jean. Protests around the country pushing cities around the nation to consider Police Reform after two weeks of nationwide demonstrations. The Houston Police chief himself demanding reform from the inside out. The community recognizing bad policing when they see it, and there are still too many instances where bad policing is tolerated. We need to say no. Reporter the houston mayor announcing at floyds funeral an executive order to ban choke holds among other reforms. In this city we will ban choke holds and strangle holds. In this city, we will require deescalation. Reporter in minneapolis a judge approved a restraining order to stop police there from using neck restraints and choke holds. In new york, a promise by the mayor to cut some police funds and move them to youth and social services. The storms keep on raging reporter back in texas, a procession following floyds casket to its final resting place. His body to be laid to rest next to his mother whom he cried out for in his final moments. The family has been a threecity soujourn and had to hold their heads up high in four memorials. They are now going to that final resting place for george floyd where he will be buried next to his mother and he will be in the last mile of that taken in a horsedrawn carriage so that the public can line the streets and say their final goodbyes as well. Erin. Sara, thank you very much. I want to go to Tiffany Cofield now, one of George Floyds close friends. Tiffany, i know you were a teacher in houstons third ward where george floyd grew up. You had a mentor your students. I know you were at the funeral today and hard day looking at pictures of you all together. What was it like being in that room with so many people honoring a person that you held so dear . It was so good to be surrounded by the love for him and people from all different walks of life, people that knew him coming together and getting a small peak at the man that we all cherished and loved and knew and had to hang out with and spent time with. It was really nice to have that much support and love for him overall. Tiffany, to all of us, he is a symbol of something happening in this country and around the world, of people standing up and protesting for justice. But, you know, on a personl level, tell us about him. I know you would ask george to come speak to your students, students who lived in the projects in the third world because he grew up there as well. He was a role model for them. Tell us what he did, what kind of role model he was. Well, he would never ask them to do something he wouldnt do himself. And we would do various Community Events with different people, a community aspect. And then some of them didnt have a father figure in their home. I was looking at an alternative charter school. And thats actually how i met him. There was an incident that occurred at the time and we were having discussion in the classroom about it. And couple of the young men, he could help them. When i first met him, we had a lot of dialogue, a lot of conversation simply about where these young men come from, giving better insight and ideology to why they responded the way they did when they would come to school sometimes and Different Things they endured. And sometimes, you know, it would be a little more difficult to do certain things. But he was always very genuine and very concerned. He loved his community. Everyone knew every time he would be around you felt like everything was okay because his presence made a difference. So, you know, its such a loss. Its a loss. His presence not being here. Well, tiffany, i am so sorry for your loss, your personal loss, your real deep personal loss. But i appreciate you sharing this with everybody because its important that someone be known for who they were on that deep personal level. You know, of course, he is now a symbol to so many of something so big. Thank you, tiffany. Thank you. And next, congressman James Clyburn has some advice and a warning for his friend joe biden. Congressman clyburn is out front. Plus we travel to where trumps base to find out what they think of the president s handling of two crises. Sometimes you look at him and you go okay, that may have been crossing a line, but he means well. He loves our country. With a truly longterm view thats been through multiple market cycles for over 85 years . With capital group, i can. Talk to your financial professional or consultant for investment risks and information. The first and only full prescription strength nonsteroidal antiinflammatory gel available overthecounter. New voltaren is powerful arthritis pain relief in a gel. Voltaren. The joy of movement. Nesome companies stillul arthhave hr stuck betweena gel. Employeesentering data. A. Changing data. More and more sensitive, personal data. And it doesnt just drag hr down. It drags the entire business down with inefficiency, errors and waste. Its ridiculous. So ridiculous. With paycom, employees enter and manage their own data in a single, easy to use software. Visit paycom. Com, and schedule your demo today. If you have a garden you know, weeds are low down little scoundrels. Draw the line with roundup. The sure shot wand extends with a protective shield to target weeds precisely and kill them right down to the root. Roundup brand. Trusted for over 40 years. Just swap your sim card you can also keep your phone, keep your network, keep your number, 20 a month, no contract. Dont keep that case though. Available 24 7 at tracfone. Com tracfone wireless. In an unprecedented crisis. A more than 10 billion cut to Public Education couldnt be worse for our schools and kids. Laying off 57,000 educators, making class sizes bigger . Cmon. Schools must reopen safely with resources for protective equipment, sanitizing classrooms, and ensuring social distancing. Tell lawmakers and Governor Newsom dont cut our students future. Pass a state budget that protects our public schools. New tonight, House Majority leader hoyer says he hopes to hold a vote on democrats sweeping Police Reform bill. It is the most expansive effort in history. It includes banning the use of choke holds, creating a National Police misconduct registry, and requiring uniformed officers to wear body cameras. Democratic congressman from South CarolinaJames Clyburn who has endorsed joe biden for president. Congressman, its good to have you with me tonight. I mentioned a few specifics of the bill. I talked to the chief of police in houston just the other day. Theres a lot of agreement on things like the choke holds. But the senate is working on its own version. As of now, their proposals does not include a ban on choke holds. Is any proposal that doesnt include that a nonstarter for you and for democrats . Thank you very much for having me, erin. I hate to ever call anything a nonstarter because if you get 90 of what you want and then that one little thing, you might go ahead and fight another day. Im a great believer in the adage a half loaf is better than no loaf at all. So, i never call anything a nonstarter. And you know, you had ten days of protests. And then some democrats started to much more loudly call to defund or dismantle Police Departments in the wake of George Floyds death. We even heard that as a chant on the streets of new york yesterday. Heres what a few of your colleagues are saying. What are you willing to sacrifice to make sure that overfunded Police Departments are defunded . The Minneapolis Police department is rotten to the root. So, when we dismantle it, we get rid of that cancer. That was ilhan omar and alexandria ocasiocortez. You have warned that language like this could hijack Police Reform efforts. President trump has seized on it. He tweeted law and order, not abolish police. The radical left democrats have gone crazy. What do you say to democrats saying Police Departments should be defunded and dismantled . Well, if youve got a rotten Police Department, treat it like you treat a rotten apple. Get rid of it. Police departments are needed. Police departments are wanted. We want good Police Departments and good police. Now everybody keeps telling me about what happened in camden, new jersey. I know what happened in camden, new jersey. They got rid of a rotten Police Department and they turned over the policing to the county, even hired some private people to do the policing. They did not defund policing. They defunded a rotten department. Theres a difference. And so i will say to all of my friends, to me history is instructed. I was there the moment john lewis back in the 60s and early 70s. We saw how our movement got hijacked. We did a lot back then that led to where we are today. We would have done even more if we had not got overtaken by slogans, burn baby burn, took off in this country. That was not john lewis. He never struck a match. That was not jim clyburn. I never threw a brick. We were trying to get things so that our children and grandchildren can have a better life in these United States of america. And i will say to all of those people who are benefitting from those efforts, be careful that we dont get hijacked this time like we got the last time. Powerfully said. You know, there are as you know because youve endorsed joe biden and i remember talking to you about that down in South Carolina. Theres several africanamerican women on his short list for Vice President. And he of course has said he is going to pick a woman. Does he need to pick an africanamerican woman . Do you think that this is now something he must do . I will never tell anybody what they must do, and i dont want anybody telling me what i must do. Lets share what i should do and maybe what you should do. And i will say this, i will be very proud im the father of three africanamerican women. I would love to see an africanamerican woman. That would be a plus, but it would not be a must. And do you think given the cross roads were in when it comes to race, that biden could pick anyone who is not african american. Before what happened with mr. Floyd, he was looking at a wide variety of women. Some white and africanamerican women. Do you think that now he must pick someone who is africanamerican. Again i use the word must so i ill use your word should. But do you think that is changing the way he should look at this decision . I dont know. I said from the beginning we must do the vetting, must do the polling and then i would say to the Vice President , after your committee, he has a committee doing this, then you take a look with your head and your heart. I feel very strongly that we ought not fly in the face of history. I saw what happened with sarah palin. She was a great choice, everybody thought. But she wasnt vetted properly. The same thing with geraldine ferrero, she was a great charge for mondale and all of a sudden the vetting wasnt done of her husband and that was a big problem. So lets just calm down, do the vetting, do the polling, and then let the Vice President sit down with those results and let his head and heart be his guide. Well we know he listened to what you say as his long time friend and confidant. Thank you so much. I appreciate your time tonight. Thank you. Up next, what trump voters are saying about forcefully clearing protesters for the photo op in front of the church. I thought he was displaying support for the Christian Church and that Historic Church. But i thought he was very, very brave to walk there. The tempurpedic breeze makes sleep. Feel cool. Because the tempurbreeze transfers heat. Away from your body. So you feel cool. Night after night. During the tempurpedic summer of sleep, experience the mattress ranked number one in Customer Satisfaction by jd power. So as you head back out on the road, well be doing what we do best. Providing some calm amidst the chaos. With virtual, realtime tours of our vehicles as well as remote purchasing. For a little help, on and off the road. Now when you buy or lease a new lincoln, well make up to 3 payments on your behalf. Its like walking into the Chocolate Factory and you won a golden ticket. All of these are face masks. This looks like a bottle of vodka. But when we first got these, we were like whoa [laughing] my threeyearold, when we get a box delivered, screams mommys work mommys work. With this pandemic, safety is even more important to make sure we go home safe every single day. Ton the wall street journal reporting that trump almost fired mark esper. It is the kind of turmoil in the crucial state of florida can overlook and support trump in november. Jeff zeleny is out front. Reporter in Trump Country more than ever feels like a world away from washington. Sometimes you look at them and go, okay, that may have been crossing a line. But he marineans well. He loves our country. The trump army is mobilizing for november promoting the president s record and not dwelling on his rhetoric. For for me it is reporter they believe the most important legacy warrants a second term. It is not that Trump Supporters are not watching events but simply view them through a different lens than many meshes. From the photo op last week. I thought he was displaying support for the Christian Church and that Historic Church but i thought he was very, very brave to walk there. Reporter to the blistering criticism from former defense secretary james mattis and colin powell. Mattis has his opinion. Powell has his. But they are so Many Republican leaders solidly behind the president that hes going to continue to have a large base of support. Reporter the question is whether that base is enough to win. With one poll after another showing an erosion for trump among independents and women. Dean black, the local republican chairman said he doesnt believe those polls. I dont think independent voters are going to be turned off in a way that is damaging to President Trump and the republican party. Reporter in 2016 trump carried duval county which includes jacksonville by slightly more than one point and neighboring st. Johns county by three points and what hell need to win again. I love jacksonville. Reporter jacksonville is now considered for the trup campaign for the partys august convention which prompted cries of outrage today. [ crowd chanting ] reporter the mayor, a republican, removed the confederate statue overnight and marched. Does his rhetoric make it more difficult for you to do your job . I have no problem with doing my job. I signed up for this. Reporter the Trump Campaign tv ads here address the president s style head on. President trumps not always polite. Mr. Nice guy wont cut it. Reporter if that sentiment is echoed in conversations with one trump voter after another. I have issues with his approach to things. But i dont feel the democratic candidate right now is very strong or would be able to take the nation further. So come november i probably will support him again. Unless there is just total collapse. So jeff joins me now. From jacksonville, so Trump Supporters what do they see now. There is no question that President Trump politics dont apply to him so the voters believe he absolutely will be reelected. In fact theyre more confident of that than some of the advisers are. But this is question. Even as republican officials are deciding whether to hold the National Convention here in jacksonville, which would excite Trump Supporters, how does that affect the rest of the electorate. Some are exhausted by all of this. So as we go forward over the next four and a half months or so, the exhaustion factor versus the excitement factor, that is the balance. Right. Excited ones will vote for him regardless. It is the others he needs to make end roads with. Thank you so much. Appreciate your time and all of yours. Anderson starts now. Good evening. George floyd is at rest tonight and the country that showed him its very best and finally its very worst is now changing all around him. After two and a half weeks of worldwide protests and Memorial Services in minneapolis, North Carolina and houston, mr. Floyd was buried today. In the hour ahead what may come of his passing. Dr. Cornell west joins us, so does filmmaker spike lee. First the funeral and cnns omar jimenez. Reporter george floyd called out for his mother who passed away to years ago. Today he was laid to rest next to her after an emotional funeral in houston