Compare And Contrast

Trump on the Shootings in Dallas:

Last night’s horrific execution-style shootings of 12 Dallas law enforcement officers — five of whom were killed and seven wounded — is an attack on our country. It is a coordinated, premeditated assault on the men and women who keep us safe.

We must restore law and order. We must restore the confidence of our people to be safe and secure in their homes and on the street.

The senseless, tragic deaths of two motorists in Louisiana and Minnesota reminds us how much more needs to be done.

This morning I offer my thoughts and prayers for all of the victims’ families, and we pray for our brave police officers and first responders who risk their lives to protect us every single day.

Our nation has become too divided. Too many Americans feel like they’ve lost hope. Crime is harming too many citizens. Racial tensions have gotten worse, not better. This isn’t the American Dream we all want for our children.

This is a time, perhaps more than ever, for strong leadership, love and compassion. We will pull through these tragedies.

Some of what Obama Said:

“We are horrified over these events and we stand united with the people and the police department in Dallas,” Obama said during an appearance before reporters with two European leaders. He called the murders “senseless” and pledged “justice will be done.”

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He talked late Thursday about the killings in Minnesota and Louisiana that generated protests across the nation. In those remarks Obama said he was “deeply troubled” by the deaths and called them “symptomatic” of a broader problem in the country.

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“We also know when people are armed with powerful weapons it makes events like these more deadly and more tragic and we are going to have to consider those realities,” Obama said.

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Obama made clear in the aftermath of the shootings in Minnesota and Louisiana that the country needed to focus more and move faster to curtail police violence against minorities. “This is not just a black issue. It’s not just a Hispanic issue. This is an American issue that we should all care about,” Obama said Friday night, just hours before the Dallas police shootings. “All fair-minded people should be concerned.”

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“When people say “Black Lives Matter,” that doesn’t mean blue lives don’t matter,” Obama said referring to the Minnesota and Louisiana shootings. “It just means all lives matter, but right now the big concern is the fact that the data shows black folks are more vulnerable to these kinds of incidents.”

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“To be concerned about these issues is not to be against law enforcement,” Obama said in his earlier remarks. He reiterated that point again on Saturday after the Dallas shootings, saying that police have “an extraordinarily difficult job and the vast majority of them do their job in an outstanding fashion.”

What I especially liked was

Trump: The senseless, tragic deaths of two motorists in Louisiana and Minnesota reminds us how much more needs to be done.

Obama: He talked late Thursday about the killings in Minnesota and Louisiana that generated protests across the nation. In those remarks Obama said he was “deeply troubled” by the deaths and called them “symptomatic” of a broader problem in the country.

So both of them are saying that BLM has a point. Maybe we are getting somewhere.