Chris Christie Doesn’t Think Highly Of Black Lives Matter

WASHINGTON (AP) _ Defending the Black Lives Matter movement, President Barack Obama said Thursday the protests are giving voice to a problem happening only in African-American communities, adding, “We, as a society, particularly given our history, have to take this seriously”. The problem is this, there’s lawlessness in this country, the president encourages this lawlessness, he encourages it. “The president encourages this lawlessness”, Christie said on CBS’s Face the Nation.

On the other hand, though, it started being lifted up as, “These folks are opposed to police, and they’re opposed to cops, and all lives matter”, so the notion was somehow saying black lives matter was reverse racism, or suggesting that other people’s lives didn’t matter, police officers’ lives didn’t matter.

O’Reilly shot back: “So you believe the Democratic Party is correct in embracing a radical group, a group that has called for police officers to be killed?”

When Dickerson pointed out that single individuals might make such comments but the movement does not support that rhetoric, Christie still did not back down.

“Black Lives Matter is a social media movement…”

In a related story, the Democratic National Committee on Wednesday proposed co-hosting a presidential candidate town hall meeting with Black Lives Matter and criminal justice reform group Campaign Zero. “That’s what the movement is creating and the president of the United States is justifying that”.

“Our members of Congress have a job to do and what you need to do as president is to bring them together to set the priorities and then to get to know them, to cajole them, to threaten them, to hug them, to do all the things that you need to do to get them to do the things that have to be done”, Christie said. An alternative “All Lives Matter” is sometimes suggested, to squelch this perceived favoritism – or special attention – accorded blacks in the Black Lives Matter formulation. The group had also been notorious in catching political officials in surprise to have them listen to what they want to say.

Contrary to deliberate lies circulated by conservative pundits and outlets like Fox News, the Black Lives Matter Network does not and has not ever called for violence against any one for any reason.

DICKERSON: But they aren’t calling for the murdering of police officers.

Christie said he hadn’t seen such an effect in New Jersey, “because the leader in New Jersey tells police officers, go out and do your job, without exception”. Fitzgerald replaces Jeff Halstead, who retired in January amid federal discrimination lawsuits filed by several black police officers.