‘That’s not woke, that’s honest’: Biden insists America shouldn’t be silent about ‘past abuses’ in MLK Day speech, saying we ‘need to retrain cops’ who always use ‘deadly force apply” – and claim there is racism in car insurance
- “The idea that we should remain silent about past abuses as if they never happened? That won’t wake you up. That’s honest,” Biden said
- The remark was pushed back against Republican cries that schools are teaching children critical race theory
- The president then accused auto insurance companies of charging higher premiums based on race
In a wide-ranging address in honor of Martin Luther King Day, President Biden called for police officers to be “retrained” not to shoot dead and questioned why auto insurance costs more in black-heavy areas.
The president also insisted that America remember its “abuses” in remarks at the National Action Network’s MLK Day Breakfast at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, DC.
“The idea that we should remain silent about past abuses as if they never happened? That won’t wake you up. That is honest. That’s history,’ said the President.
The remark was pushed back against Republican cries that schools are teaching children critical race theory.
The president then accused auto insurance companies of charging higher premiums based on race.
In a broad-ranging address in honor of Martin Luther King Day, President Joe Biden called for police officers to be “retrained” not to shoot to death and questioned why auto insurance is more popular in black-heavy areas costs
“If you live in one of those neighborhoods and you have the exact same car I have in the other neighborhood, you’re paying more for your insurance than this site. No basis for it. None except that you are black and I know.”
Biden then told the crowd that the US needed to “retrain” police officers not to shoot to kill.
“We need to retrain cops,” Biden said. “Why should one always shoot deadly force to death? The fact is, if you have to use your gun, you don’t have to.’
He promoted his own executive order restricting strangleholds and federal arrest warrants and created a national database to track officer misconduct.
The President further promised to impose a ban on assault weapons after the last one expired in 2004.
“I will get my assault weapon ban. I did it once, I will do it again.’
“There is no social value – the deer out there don’t wear Kevlar vests. What the hell do you need for an attack? No, I’m serious and ban the number of bullets and go to the magazine. There’s no need for that,” Biden said.
He then ridiculed offensive weapon advocates who claim they need such an arsenal to keep government tyranny in check.
“I love my right-wing friends talking about the tree of liberty being soaked in patriot blood.”
“If you have concerns about taking on the federal government, you need some F-15s. You don’t need an AR-15. I’m serious – think about it. Think about the rationale for this. It’s about money, money, money.”
Biden then told the crowd that the US needed to “retrain” police officers not to shoot to kill
In his address, Biden also slammed “tax-crazy” Republicans who voted in the House last week to reclaim $72 billion from the IRS, which he says would help the wealthy “cheat” their taxes if it became law.
He said he had kept a “promise” by granting clemency to several thousand who had been charged with marijuana-related offenses in October.
“No one – I repeat – no one should be in federal prison for the mere possession of marijuana. Nobody,” he said.
“Furthermore, they should be released from prison and fully pardoned, and their entire record wiped out so that if they have to ask, ‘Have you ever been? [convicted]You can honestly say, “No,” he added.
Biden does not have the authority to delete records, but the US Sentencing Commission (USSC) released a report showing that no one was jailed for marijuana possession in the last fiscal year.