By Ronn Blitzer
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden accused President Trump of being part of the problem Thursday as violence, unrest and racial tension remain prevalent across the country.
In an interview with MSNBC, the former vice president compared the state of the country during President Obama’s second term with Trump's first, but appeared to overlook multiple major events that took place during the Obama-Biden administration.
"For the last four years we weren't having riots, racial riots," he said of his second term with Obama. "When they occurred, we didn't have to call in the National Guard."
Biden appeared to overlook high-profile instances of violent protests and unrest across the country, including in Ferguson, Mo., following the 2014 police shooting of Michael Brown. As violence overtook the St. Louis suburb, Gov. Jay Nixon did indeed call in the National Guard.
"Tonight, a day of hope, prayers, and peaceful protests was marred by the violent criminal acts of an organized and growing number of individuals, many from outside the community and state, whose actions are putting the residents and businesses of Ferguson at risk," Nixon said in an August 2014 statement describing events very similar to how the Trump administration has characterized recent violence in the U.S. "I am directing the highly capable men and women of the Missouri National Guard to assist ... in restoring peace and order to this community."
That November, the National Guard was posted again when violence broke out after a grand jury voted not to indict Officer Darren Wilson for Brown's death. After the decision, violent protests also broke out in Oakland, where dozens were arrested.
Then in April 2015, the city of Baltimore experienced nights of rioting, looting and arson in the wake of the death of Freddie Gray, 25, in police custody. The Maryland National Guard was called up, the first time for a civil disturbance in the state since 1968. A nightly curfew was imposed, and more than 200 people were arrested.
And in September 2016, protests in Charlotte, N.C., over the death of Keith Lamont Scott, 43, turned violent. North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory declared a state of emergency and called in the National Guard after Charlotte's police chief said he needed the help.
Biden made his remarks in response to reported excerpts of the speech President Trump is expected to deliver Thursday night at the Republican National Convention.
"We have spent the last four years reversing the damage Joe Biden inflicted over the last 47 years," Trump is expected to say. "At the Democrat convention, you barely heard a word about their agenda. But that's not because they don't have one. It's because their agenda is the most extreme set of proposals ever put forward by a major party nominee."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Author: Ronn Blitzer