Good morning and welcome to another full news day. Here we go.
President Trump has slammed U.S. governors over their response to protests over George Floyd's killing. Via AP: "President Donald Trump on Monday derided the nation’s governors as “weak” and demanded tougher crackdowns on protesters in the aftermath of another night of violent protests in dozens of American cities . Trump spoke to governors on a video teleconference with law enforcement and national security officials, telling the local leaders they “have to get much tougher” amid nationwide protests and criticizing their responses. 'Most of you are weak,' Trump said. 'You have to arrest people.'"
Former President Obama weighed in, too. NPR writes: "Former President Barack Obama said the protests in cities across the nation in the aftermath of George Floyd's death in Minneapolis under a police officer's knee 'represent a genuine and legitimate frustration over a decades-long failure to reform police practices and the broader criminal justice system in the United States.' But he wrote in a post Monday on Medium that 'the small minority of folks who've resorted to violence' at many demonstrations are 'putting innocent people at risk, compounding the destruction of neighborhoods that are often already short on services and investment and detracting from the larger cause.'"
Prosecuting Floyd's killer poses political and legal risks for Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison. “Even if he turns this over to somebody else, this now such a high-profile case that becomes a referendum, in part, on him,” Hamline University political science professor David Schultz told MPR News' Tim Pugmire. “If this doesn’t go well, if for example his office doesn’t get a conviction, this becomes I think politically very damaging to his career.”
Ellison is confident in his office's capacity. “We have a criminal division of highly competent prosecutors that I have tremendous confidence in,” he said. “We believe we have the capability, and we’ll work with our counterparts in Hennepin County to make sure justice is achieved.”
"Some Republicans still make their case against Ellison by pointing to a photo he posted on social media in 2018 of him holding a book about the protest movement known as Antifa. When asked recently about the deleted but still circulating photo, Ellison dismissed it as nothing," Pugmire writes.
And if you're in the mood for a 2020 presidential poll, here's one. Coverage by USA Today: "Former Vice President Joe Biden's lead over President Donald Trump among registered voters has increased by 8 percentage points since March as approval of Trump's handling of the coronavirus pandemic has slipped, according to a poll released Sunday by ABC News and The Washington Post. The presumptive Democratic nominee leads Trump 53%-43% among registered voters, the poll found. On March 25, the same survey showed a much tighter race, with Biden leading by just 2 percentage points, 49%-47%."
