Mike Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor, told the “Todd Starnes Radio Show” on Thursday that it has been interesting to watch how the media covered peaceful protests to reopen the U.S. amid the coronavirus outbreak and its coverage of the looting that stemmed from protests over George Floyd’s death in police custody.
Todd Starnes, the host of the radio show, said the mainstream media has been “going after the folks fighting to reopen America, but there was nary a word said about people congregating in the streets to protest this horrible thing that happened in Minneapolis.”
Huckabee agreed that there was a clear double standard.
“Well, I noticed, Todd, some of the photos of the people looting…they were wearing masks, but those masks weren’t to protect people from COVID-19, those masks were to hide their faces from the very serious felony criminal activities that they were engaged in,” he said. He continued, “So, you know, I’m waiting for CNN to congratulate them for wearing masks and saying that they’ve done something very healthy.”
Floyd, 46, died earlier this week in police custody and protests in the city erupted after a video taken by a citizen emerged that showed him pinned to the ground with one of the officer’s knee pressed against his neck. White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Thursday that President Trump was “very upset” after watching the video.
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She said Trump called the FBI while aboard Air Force one and asked the bureau to expedite the investigation.
Both Starnes and Huckabee said the video that emerged of Floyd’s death earlier this week was troubling and difficult to watch. But they were critical of the decision by many in the city to resort to looting and arson late Wednesday.
“I’ve never understood why breaking into a person’s store, who had nothing to do with an action, somehow was justified because some cops did something that, certainly on the surface, looks to be extremely awful, something that is just disgusting to watch from the video,” Huckabee said.
Huckabee said the four cops involved in the arrest were fired and there’s a good chance that they will be criminally charged.
“The wheels of justice are turning and they should,” he said. “And we need to know why these cops did what they did, especially the one with his knee on the young man’s neck.”