President Donald Trump revealed he wants to drive around town in an RV, perhaps to New York, with the First Lady. The president made the surprise remark in a White House press briefing on June 5. He also made comments about George Floyd, the Minneapolis man whose death has sparked unrest throughout the nation.
However, Trump wasn’t sure what an RV is called at first, referring to RVs as trailers.
“People are traveling,” the president said. “And, you know what, they’re traveling in the United States. And they’re also driving. And they’re building the trailers. They’re building a lot of things, they’re driving. People are driving. I may have to buy one of those things, drive around town. Maybe I’ll drive back to New York with our First Lady in a trailer. What did they call that?”
He was told, “an RV.”
Trump responded, “An RV, well you should know, Indiana’s the capitol of RVs. I think I’m going to buy an RV and travel from now on in an RV with our First Lady.”
Watch the video:
Trump: “I may have to buy one of those things, drive around town. Maybe I’ll drive back to New York with our first lady in a trailer. What do they call that? An RV, an RV.” t.co/MnEGfNHl9h
The memes and GIFs flew after Trump’s RV comment. Several people made immediate jokes about Trump driving around the country in an RV resembling “Cousin Eddie’s” in the iconic movie National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.
Melania when she hears Trump suggest they hit the road in an RV
@ddale8 The thought of Trump behind the wheel of something as large as an RV is terrifying.
@ddale8 Trump, after morning tweeting from his RV. #AmericaOrTrump
@kaitlancollins Randy Quaid says Trump can use Cousin Eddy’s RV from National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation
@RadioFreeTom Seriously. It’s time to take the keys. The last thing we need is Trump trying to drive an RV.
How does he STILL have the nuclear codes?!?
Here’s what you need to know:
President Trump Also Made Comments About George Floyd at the Same Briefing
TRUMP: “Equal Justice under the law must mean that every American receives equal treatment in every encounter with law enforcement regardless of race, color, gender, or creed..”
Although the RV comment sparked memes and jokes, another comment Trump made about a very serious matter – the death of George Floyd – was already causing controversy online. “Hopefully, George is looking down right and saying this is a great thing that’s happening for our country. It’s a great day for him, it’s a great day for everybody,” Trump said. You can watch that video clip above.
However, the clip shows that Trump brought up George Floyd directly after speaking about equality for all people, not about job numbers.
The president said:
Equal justice under the law must mean that every American receives equal treatment in every encounter with law enforcement; regardless of race, color, gender or creed, they have to receive fair treatment, from law enforcement, they have to receive it. We all saw what happened last week. We can’t let that happen. Hopefully George is looking down right now and saying this is a great thing that’s happening for our country. It’s a great day for him, it’s a great day for everybody. It’s a great day for everybody. This is a great, great day in terms of equality. It’s really what our Constitution requires, and it’s what our country is all about.
One Twitter user criticized some members of the news media for making it appear Trump was talking about Floyd’s response to job numbers, not equality.
Trump is bad enough on his own, but it’s unbelievable how dishonest members of the press are on this site. I had my DM’s being filled with people outraged at Trump for saying George Floyd would be cheering on the jobs numbers. I was about to attack him. Then saw the full video.
Trump in the same briefing touted the nation’s unemployment numbers going down. According to The Independent, the U.S. unemployment rate dropped from 14.7 percent in April to 13.3 per cent in May. Unemployment among black and Asian Americans is up, though, the site reported.
Trump said the job rate was “an affirmation of all the work we’ve been doing,” and he said the economy was a “body” that was a rocketship after needing an operation. According to CNN, April’s jobless rate was the “worst rate since monthly record keeping began in 1948,” driven by the COVID-19 pandemic. CNN reported that the black jobless rate stands at 16.8%, worse than the white unemployment rate, which stands at 12.4%.
Floyd, of course, was the Minneapolis man who died after being restrained by Minneapolis police officers. A viral video of the scene ignited protests and riots that have roiled major cities throughout the country. Officer Derek Chauvin was charged with second-degree murder and the other three officers at the scene are also facing criminal charges. All of the officers were fired. The unrest also led to widespread looting.
READ NEXT: What’s Known About George Floyd’s Cause of Death.