Donald Trump took umbrage with a question a CBS News reporter asked about Black Lives Matter on Tuesday.
Reporter Catherine Herridge asked the US president in an interview why he thought Black Americans were being shot by police officers.
“So are white people. So are white people. What a terrible question to ask. So are white people,” Trump told CBS News. “More white people, by the way. More white people.”
A 2016 Washington Post story notes white people make up about 49% of those who are killed by police officers, while Black Americans account for 24% of those fatally shot and killed by the police. However, since Black people make up just 13% of the US population, that means they are 2.5 times as likely as white Americans to be shot and killed by police officers.
MSNBC host Chris Hayes had some concerns over the president’s “police kill white people too” response.
Herridge then tried to get Trump to understand why many people find the Confederate flag objectionable.
“Well, people love it, and I don’t view ― I know people that like the Confederate flag and they’re not thinking about slavery. I look at NASCAR,” he said in response. NASCAR announced in June that the flags would be banned at its events.