Incendiary warnings by Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters about the potential outcome of the trial of the ex-police officer charged with killing George Floyd could spike tensions, were legally unwise and raise questions of Democratic double standards.
But they also drew out the hypocrisy of pro-Donald Trump Republicans over incitement to violence and ought not to overshadow the profound issues of race and justice raised by a harrowing four weeks in court.
Waters’ inflammatory remarks in Minnesota on Saturday justifiably caused an uproar as they came at a hyper-sensitive moment of one of the most racially sensitive and emotionally wrenching trials in years, with US cities on edge as jurors begin deliberations.