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President Obama Speaks about Zimmerman Case

Aired July 19, 2013 - 13:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: The president of the United States has just gone into the White House press briefing room. Let's listen.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, I wanted to come out here first of all to tell you that Jay is prepared for all your questions and is very much looking forward to the session.

Second thing is I want to let you know that over the next couple of weeks there are going to obviously be a whole range of issues, economic, immigration, et cetera. We'll try to arrange a fuller press conference to address your questions.

The reason I actually wanted to come out today is not to take questions but to speak to an issue that obviously has gotten a lot of attention over the course of the last week, the issue of the Trayvon Martin ruling. I gave a preliminary statement right after the ruling on Sunday, but watching the debate over the course of the last week, I thought it might be useful for me to expand on my thoughts a little bit.

First of all, I want to make sure that, once again, I send my thoughts and prayers as well as Michelle's to the family of Trayvon Martin, and to remark on the incredible grace and dignity with which they've dealt with the entire situation. I can only imagine what they're going through, and it's remarkable how they've handled it.

The second thing I want to say is to reiterate what I said on Sunday, which is there going to be a lot of arguments about the legal issues in the case. I'll let all the legal analysts and talking heads address those issues. The judge conducted the trial in a professional manner. The prosecution and the defense made their arguments. The juries were properly instructed that in a case such as this, reasonable doubt was relevant, and they rendered a verdict. And once the jury's spoken, that's how our system works.

But I did want to just talk a little bit about context and how people have responded to it and how people are feeling. You know, when Trayvon Martin was first shot, I said that this could have been my son. Another way of saying that is Trayvon Martin could have been me 35 years ago. And when you think about why in the African-American community, at least, there's a lot of pain around what happened here.

I think it's important to recognize that the African-American community is looking at this issue through a set of experiences and a history that doesn't go away. There are very few African-American men in this country who haven't had the experience of being followed when they were shopping in a department store. That includes me. There are, frankly, very few African-American men who haven't had the experience of walking across the street and hearing the locks click on the doors of cars. That happens to me -- at least before I was a senator. There are very few African-Americans who haven't had the experience of getting on an elevator and a woman clutching her purse nervously and holding her breath until she had a chance to get off. That happens often. And I don't want to exaggerate this, but those sets of experiences inform how the African-American community interprets what happened one night in Florida. And it's inescapable for people to bring those experiences to bear.

The African-American community is also knowledgeable that there is a history of racial disparities in the application of our criminal laws, everything from the death penalty to enforcement of our drug laws, and that ends up having an impact in terms of how people interpret the case.

Now, this isn't to say the African-American community is naive about the fact that African-American young men are disproportionately involved in criminal justice system, that they're disproportionately both victims and perpetrators of violence. It's not to make excuses for that fact. Although black folks do interpret the reasons for that in a historical context, they understand that some of the violence that takes place in poor black neighborhoods around the country is born out of a very violent past in this country, and that the poverty and dysfunction that we see in those communities can be traced to a very difficult history. And so the fact that sometimes that's unacknowledged adds to the frustration and the fact that a lot of African-American boys are painted with a broad brush and the excuse is given, well, there are these statistics out there that show that African-American boys are more violent. Using that as an excuse to then see sons treated differently, it causes pain.

I think the African-American community is also not naive in understanding that statistically somebody like Trayvon Martin was probably statistically more likely to be shot by a peer than he was by somebody else. So -- so folks understand the challenges that exist for African-American boys. But they get frustrated, I think, if they feel there's no context and that context is being denied. And that all contributes, I think, to a sense that if a white male teen was involved in the same kind of scenario that, from top to bottom, both the outcome and the aftermath might have been different.

Now, the question, for me, at least, and I think for a lot of folks is, where do we take this? How do we learn some lessons from this and move in a positive direction? I think it's understandable that there have been demonstrations and vigils and protests, and some of that stuff is just going to have to work its way through, as long as it remains nonviolent. If I see any violence, then I will remind folks that that dishonors what happened to Trayvon Martin and his family. But beyond protests or vigils, the questions are, are there some concrete things that we might be able to do?

I know that Eric Holder is reviewing what happened down there, but I think it's important for people to have some clear expectations here. Traditionally, these are issues of state and local government. The criminal code and law enforcement is traditionally done at the state and local levels, not at the federal levels. That doesn't mean, though, that as a nation we can't do some things that I think would be productive.

So let me just give a couple of specifics that I'm still bouncing around with my staff, so we're not rolling out some five-point plan, but some areas where I think all of us could potentially focus.

Number one, precisely because law enforcement is often determined at the state and local level, I think it would be productive for the Justice Department, governors, mayors to work with law enforcement about training at the state and local levels in order to reduce the kind of mistrust in the system that sometimes currently exists.

You know, when I was in Illinois, I passed racial-profiling legislation and it actually did just two simple things. One, it collected data on traffic stops and the race of the person who was stopped, but the other thing was it resourced us training police departments across the state on how to think about potential racial bias and ways to further professionalize what they were doing. And initially, the police departments across the state were resistant, but actually they came to recognize that if it was done in a fair, straightforward way that it would allow them to do their jobs better, and communities would have more confidence in them and, in turn, be more helpful in applying the law. And obviously law enforcement has a very tough job.

So that's one area where I think there are a lot of resources and best practices that could be brought to bear if state and local governments are receptive, and I think a lot of them would be. And let's figure out, are there ways for us to push out that kind of training.

Along the same lines, I think it would be useful for us to examine some state and local laws to see if it -- if they are designed in such a way that they may encourage the kinds of altercations and confrontations and tragedies we saw in the Florida case rather than defuse potential altercations.

I know there's been commentary about the fact that the Stand Your Ground laws in Florida were not used as a defense in the case. On the other hand, if we're sending a message as a society in our communities that someone who is armed potentially has the right to use those firearms, even if there's a way for them to exit from a situation, is that really going to be contributing to the kind of peace and security and order that we'd like to see? And for those who resist that idea that we should think about something like these Stand Your Ground laws, I just ask people to consider if Trayvon Martin was of age and armed, could he have stood his ground on that sidewalk? And do we actually think that he would have been justified in shooting Mr. Zimmerman who had followed him in a car because he felt threatened? And if the answer to that question is at least ambiguous, then it seems to me that we might want to examine those kinds of laws.

Number three, this is a long-term project. We need to spend some time in thinking about, how do we bolster and reinforce our African- American boys. And this is something that Michelle and I talk a lot about. There are a lot of kids out there who need help, who are getting a lot of negative reinforcement, and is there more that we can do to give them a sense that their country cares about them and values them and is willing to invest in them?

I'm not naive about the prospects of some brand new federal program. I'm not sure that that's what we're talking about here. But I do recognize that, as president, I've got some convening power. And there are a lot of good programs that are being done across the country on this front, and for us to be able to gather together, business leaders and local elected officials and clergy and celebrities and athletes, and figure out how are we doing a better job helping young African-American men feel that they're a full part of this society and that they've got pathways and avenues to succeed? You know, I think that would be a pretty good outcome from what was obviously a tragic situation. And we're going to spend some time working on that and thinking about that.

And then finally, I think it's going to be important for all of us to do some soul searching. You know, there has been talk about, should we convene a conversation on race? I haven't seen that be particularly productive when politicians try to organize conversations. They end up being stilted and politicized, and folks are locked into the positions they already have. On the other hand, families and churches and workplaces, there's a possibility that people are a little bit more honest, and at least you ask yourself your own questions about, am I wringing as much bias out of myself as I can? Am I judging people as much as I can not based on the color of their skin but the content of their character? That would, I think, be an appropriate exercise in the wake of this tragedy.

And let me just leave you with a final thought that as difficult and challenging as this whole episode has been for a lot of people, I don't want us to lose sight that things are getting better. Each successive generation seems to be making progress in changing attitudes when it comes to race. It doesn't mean we're in a post- racial society. It doesn't mean that racism is eliminated. But you know, when I talk to Malia and Sasha, and I listen to their friends and I see them interact, they're better than we are. They're better than we were on these issues. And that's true in every community that I've visited all across the country.

And so, you know, we have to be vigilant and we have to work on these issues. And those of us in authority should be doing everything we can to encourage the better angels of our nature as opposed to using these episodes to heighten divisions. But we should also have confidence that kids these days, I think, have more sense than we did back then, and certainly more than our parents did or our grandparents did, and that along this long, difficult journey, we're becoming a more perfect union, not a perfect union but a more perfect union.

All right? Thank you, guys.

Now you can -- now you can --

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Have you talked to the Martin family, Mr. President? Have you talked to the Martin family?

BLITZER: There you see the president of the United States.

Jay Carney, his press secretary.

Let's listen for a minute to see if he does any questions about this, especially the question shouted at the president, has he spoken to Trayvon Martin's family.

JAY CARNEY, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: -- briefing. I would understand if folks need to go file, that's fine. I leave it to our friends in the front row to tell me how brief we can keep this.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Keep it short.

CARNEY: Keep it short.

Let me go to Julie.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: I guess just to start off, can you tell us a little bit about the process of having that -- why did the president have to do it at the end of the week, at the end of the week after this verdict?

CARNEY: I'll say a couple things, because the process is far less important than the words the president spoke. And he -- he wanted to say something, and he came out and said it. He's obviously mindful of the discussions that have been going on. I think some of us had discussions earlier this week. He was certainly prepared to take questions on this issue when he had some interviews earlier in this week, and would have answered them in probably similar fashion. But he felt like today was a good day to speak about it.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Just on Detroit, the vice president said in his event earlier today that the president had meetings at the White House on the situation there. Is there any type of federal response or federal assistance the White House deems appropriate in this situation?

CARNEY: You have heard leaders in Michigan say, and we believe they're correct, that this is a -- an issue that has to be resolved.

BLITZER: All right. They've moved on now. But we did hear the president speak off the cuff. He had some notes, but he was not reading a teleprompter. He was not reading a speech. He was speaking from the heart about a very, very sensitive subject, especially getting personal. At one point saying the president saying Trayvon Martin could have been me 35 years ago.

Gloria Borger is here. Sunny Hostin is here. Candy Crowley is with us.

Gloria, let me quickly start with you. Not every day the president of the United States, unannounced, goes into the briefing room, spends almost 20 minutes speaking directly about how this verdict has impacted him, his family, African-Americans. And then he comes up with some proposals of how to deal with this situation.

GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: And, Wolf, speaking from the heart, you know, not using a teleprompter, like we very often see this president using. The words that come to mind are heartfelt, as you point out. Very sober about this. Talking about how African- Americans look at this case through a history that doesn't go away, he said. Realistic about what he could propose, talking about Stand Your Ground, for example, having those issues re-examined, a discussion with state and local law enforcement and a discussion about young African-American males. And ultimately, though, Wolf, very optimistic. Using the lens of his own children to say, look, they're better than I was. Their children will be better than they are. And saying, look, you know, don't let this make you believe that we have not made progress in this country.

Obviously, he stayed away from what the Justice Department is going to do ultimately on the civil rights case. Cautioning that you do have to be realistic about it. But I think this was something people wanted to hear from him. And I think, Wolf, he struck exactly the right sober tone and the balance between personal reflections as an African-American and what you can do moving forward.

BLITZER: Let's bring in Sunny Hostin.

Sunny, the president at one point said the jury had a reasonable doubt. They entered a verdict. It's now time to move on. What do you think, Sunny? As someone who watched the Zimmerman trial every single day, what did you think about what the president had to say?

SUNNY HOSTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: I agree with Gloria. I think he certainly struck the right tone. I think people, especially in the African-American community, have been waiting for the president to weigh in on this issue because there has been a sense within the African-American community that justice was not done here, that the system failed Trayvon Martin. The system failed Trayvon Martin's family. And so I think it was really important for the president to weigh in on this.

And you're right, Wolf. I was in the courtroom every single day. And I was very stunned by the verdict. And in my discussions after this verdict with members of the African-American community, with Trayvon Martin's family, I think everyone, you know, has been discussing our system and whether or not race has played a part in this verdict, and what we can do as a country to move forward and to move -- and to, perhaps, make some change out of this terrible tragedy.

And I think the president did give us somewhat of a guideline, of guidelines where we need to go. Do churches need to take the lead? Do our communities need to take the lead? Do we need to re-examine Stand Your Ground laws, which the president described as ambiguous. Certainly, I think they're even more than ambiguous, but ambiguous is an accurate term as well. So I think this was an important thing for the president to do. BLITZER: Candy, he was so personal at one point, saying, you know what, even he as a younger man experienced people looking askance at him when he would cross the street, women would start clutching their purses or whatever. He got personal in these remarks.

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: He did. And that's what made it so effective, obviously, because that and the fact that it appeared to be certainly without a teleprompter. Obviously, he had thought about it and had notes. But it just had this feel of here's what's inside me. This is not a president where you get that feeling very much. He is not a guy that lays it all out there, how he's feeling or what's close to his heart. When he brings in Malia and Sasha and how they and their friends deal with race.

I thought it was -- there were very many interesting things about it. One of the things he did not do was discuss whether the trial -- or say anything about whether the trial was about race. He posed some questions. And then he did talk about the remaining injustices in a system that African-Americans and people of color have seen for so long and throughout history. He talked about that prism that only African-Americans see through and the long history of injustices. So he did talk about injustices in the system, be it Stand Your Ground laws or profiling, what have you. But he didn't talk about racism in the case. So I thought he tried to elevate the conversation, saying, look, here's how the system works. That was the verdict was. Now here's what the problem is.

BLITZER: And very strong words from the president. Powerful words.

We're going to continue to assess what's going on. Jessica Yellin, our chief White House correspondent, has thoughts on what's going on. She's going to be with us at the top of the hour.

I'll be back, 5:00 p.m. eastern, in "THE SITUATION ROOM."

Brooke Baldwin will continue our special coverage of the president speaking out on the Zimmerman trial right after this.

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