‘We still must reform the system’: Biden and Harris respond to George Floyd verdict

The full video can be seen on C-SPAN.

Vice President Harris took to the mic first. "A measure of justice isn't the same as equal justice", she began. "This verdict brings us a step closer and the fact is, we still have work to do. We still must reform the system".

She went on to state that George Floyd's legacy will live on through a bill introduced last year that bears his name. The bill, which is expected to pass, is intended to "hold law enforcement accountable, and help build trust between [them] and our communities".

"Because of smartphones", Harris continued, "so many Americans have now seen the racial injustice that Black Americans have known for generations; the racial injustice that we have fought for generations; that millions of us, Americans of every race, protested last summer. It is not just a Black American problem, or a people of colour problem; it is a problem for every American. It is keeping us from fulfilling the promise of liberty and justice for all".

Next, President Biden delivered his remarks. He began by stating that George Floyd's death was "a murder in full light of day" that "flipped the blinders off for the whole world to see the systemic racism ... that's a stain on our nation's soul; the knee on the neck of justice for Black Americans."

He described his phone call with Floyd's young daughter, during which he told her, "Daddy did change the world. Let that be his legacy; a legacy of peace, not violence, of justice".

The president made sure to separate good cops from bad stating that, "most women and men who wear the badge serve their communities honestly".

He decried those who "seek to exploit the raw emotions of the moment", calling them "agigators and extremists who have no justice in social justice, who seek to carry out violence, destroy property, fan the flames of hate and division, who'll do everything in their power to stop this country's march towards racial justice".

In his closing remarks, President Biden stated that non-peaceful protestors cannot be allowed to succeed in their goal to divide, and proclaimed that "There can never be any safe harbour for hate in America".