Following an announcement late Monday that a grand jury had chosen not to indict Darren Wilson for the shooting death of Michael Brown of Ferguson, Mo., President Obama addressed the nation on the issue.
“First and foremost, we are a nation built on the rule of law. And so, we need to accept that this decision was the grand jury’s to make. There are Americans who agree with it, and there are Americans who are deeply disappointed, even angry. It’s an understandable reaction,” he said. “Michael Brown’s parents have lost more than anyone. We should be honoring their wishes.”
“I also appeal to the law enforcement officials in Ferguson and the region to show care and restraint in managing peaceful protests that may occur. Understand, our police officers put their lives on the line for us every single day. They’ve got a tough job to do to maintain public safety and hold accountable those who break the law,” he added.
But something else happened as the president spoke.
Some of the demonstrators that had gathered earlier in Ferguson to protest Brown’s death erupted in violence, many taking to the streets to loot and destroy nearby shops.
And as the violence continued to grow in the small Missouri town, the president continued to speak, the major cable networks — CNN, Fox News and MSNBC — carrying his remarks.
But these same networks also carried footage of the violence in Ferguson, juxtaposed neatly next to images from the White House.
For many, the optics of the president speaking alongside images of rioting in America’s heartland was stark and shocking.
“This splitscreen between Obama and Ferguson is something else,” Mother Jones’ Nick Baumann said in a tweet.
The conservative blogger known as Ace echoed the exact same sentiments: “[T]he splitscreen of Obama’s statement and the spiraling violence in Ferguson is something else.”
“Do you think somebody in the White House might’ve figured this out?” MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough asked Tuesday morning. “Maybe the [president’s] speech should’ve been before the announcement so you don’t have that splitscreen?”
On Tuesday morning, police estimated that 12 shops in Ferguson had been badly damaged by fires set by protesters, many of the stores reduced to unsalvageable wrecks of brick and metal.
