US President Donald Trump said that his country needs strong police, and has decided to organize an election festival on the "Freedom Day" holiday in a city known for its racism against blacks in the Confederate era, at a time when protests continue to denounce the violence of security men against African Americans.
The US president said that his administration will increase investment in police training and take measures to increase capital access for small businesses in minority communities.
During an event at a church in Dallas, Trump stressed that the United States needed stronger police forces and could not advance the stigmatization of millions of Americans.
Trump's statements come amid continuing protests against racism and police brutality, against the backdrop of the murder of black American George Floyd by suffocation at the hands of the police in Minneapolis in May.
In the same context, Trump is facing criticism for his decision to organize an election conference next week during the "Freedom Day" holiday that marks the end of slavery, in a city famous for a terrible racial massacre in 1921.
Trump announced earlier that his campaign would hold a conference on June 19 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he won by more than 30% of the vote in the 2016 election.
This is the first Trump campaign conference since the Coruna virus invaded the country nearly three months ago.
June 19 is an annual holiday marking the end of slavery in the United States and African Americans celebrate it as their independence day.
White supremacy,
California Senator Kamala Harris criticized Trump's decision to hold the conference on that date. "It is not just a sign of advocacy for white supremacy, for it holds a reception for them," she wrote on Twitter.
Also on Twitter, black congressman Al Green wrote: "Trump's election conference with the flags of the Confederate (era of slavery and racism) in Tulsa is more than a slap in the face for African Americans ... It is open racism from the highest leadership in the country."
Tulsa was in 1921 the scene of one of the bloodiest incidents of racial violence in the country, when white gangs attacked black citizens and business centers with weapons and explosives dropped by aircraft.
For its part, the Pentagon said that Minister Mark Esper ordered a review of the National Guard's response to protests against police brutality and racism that erupted across the United States recently.
"The report will address a range of issues, including training, equipping, organizing, managing, deploying, and employing National Guard forces," the ministry said in a statement Thursday. The statement added that Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy will conduct the review.