George Floyd killing controversy may end Amy Klobuchar’s VP chances

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Outrage over the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd, a black man, is sinking Amy Klobuchar’s stock as a potential vice presidential pick for Joe Biden.

The Minnesota senator, who has started the vetting process to be Biden’s vice president, is making missteps in public statements about the incident and faces renewed scrutiny about her prosecutorial record.

Klobuchar quickly released a statement Tuesday about the incident that happened in her home state.

"We heard his repeated cries for help. We heard him say over and over again that he could not breathe. And now we have seen yet another horrifying and gutwrenching instance of an African American man dying," Klobuchar said in part of the statement. "Every single person in every single community in this country deserves to feel safe. As the Mayor of Minneapolis noted, this tragic loss of life calls for immediate action.”

Lawyer and CNN commentator Bakari Sellers said that it was a “good statement.” But other activists were outraged that Klobuchar did not specifically mention Floyd’s name.

“How did @amyklobuchar @SenAmyKlobuchar and her team write this statement and not even bother to mention the name #GeorgeFloyd? A number of folks have hit me today about this,” tweeted commentator Roland Martin.

Other users slammed Klobuchar for failing to mention that police officers were responsible for Floyd’s death.

“Yeah.... this is why you shouldn’t be @JoeBiden ’s VP,” tweeted diversity and inclusion activist April Reign, founder of the #OscarsSoWhite hashtag, which brought attention to the lack of minority nominees during the 2015 Academy Awards.