George Floyd protests: John Oliver says US police misconduct ‘built on legacy of white supremacy’

‘When a man like Donald Trump uses the word “thugs”, you know exactly what it’s code for’

John Oliver has addressed the nationwide protests over the death of George Floyd, saying that police misconduct stems from a "legacy of white supremacy".

Floyd, 46, died on 25 May while being arrested by Minneapolis police, with a video showing that white officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for more than seven minutes.

Chauvin has since been arrested and charged with murder. Protests have taken place across major US cities in response to the incident.

On the latest episode of his HBO series Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, which aired on Sunday 31 May, Oliver said: “There is so much to say here – some of it complicated; much of it, all too clear.”

“There is clearly a lot to discuss here: how these protests are a response to a legacy of police misconduct, both in Minneapolis and in the nation at large, and how that misconduct is, in and of itself, built on a legacy of white supremacy that prioritises the comfort of white Americans over the safety of people of colour.”

The comedian also highlighted a now-infamous tweet written by president Donald Trump, which said: “These THUGS are dishonoring the memory of George Floyd... When the looting starts, the shooting starts.”

“When a man like Donald Trump uses the word ‘thugs’, you know exactly what it’s code for,” said Oliver.

He continued: “’When the looting starts, the shooting starts’ is actually a quote from a notoriously racist 1960s Miami police chief.

“It is truly astounding how Donald Trump has managed to live nearly 74 years with a remedial understanding of spelling, grammar, geography, science, civics, nutrition and child development, and yet, he’s the f***ing Library of Alexandria when it comes to racist maxims of the 20th century."