Trump and Biden on Race, Policing and Criminal Justice

Republican President 👤Donald Trump and his Democratic opponent, Joe Biden, have contrasting records on race and criminal justice, issues that have risen in prominence in the 2020 election.

Here is a look at their stances:

RHETORIC

In September, Trump and Biden each visited Kenosha, Wisconsin, where Jacob Blake, a Black man, was shot in the back several times by a white police officer the month prior.

The two trips were very different. Biden spoke by phone with Blake, who is hospitalized, and met privately with his family. Trump’s visit the same week was intended to convey support for police and he did not meet the Blake family.

Biden has said he was motivated to run for president after Trump blamed “both sides” following violence between white supremacists and counterprotesters at a 2017 rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, saying the comment was evidence of racism. Trump’s campaign accused Biden of mischaracterizing those remarks and said the president has condemned white supremacy.

POLICING

Trump responded to protests over the May 25 death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody by urging a militaristic response, including the use of troops, military-style equipment and federal law enforcement officials. He threatened to strip federal funding from Democratic-run cities like Portland unless they quell unrest.

In June, Trump signed an executive order on police reform, that encouraged police to use the latest standards for use of force, banned chokeholds unless an officer’s life was in danger, and he called for legislation to do more.

Democrats faulted the order for allowing some exceptions to the chokehold ban and placing no restrictions on warrants that let police enter a person’s property without knocking. Biden endorsed most of the bill that Democrats put forward, which had more categorical bans on both practices.