US. President Barack Obama delivers remarks on the Trayvon Martin case during a surprise visit to the press briefing room at the White House in Washington, DC yesterday.
WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama yesterday jumped into the debate over the acquittal of a man who killed black Florida teenager Trayvon Martin, declaring that Martin “could have been me, 35 years ago” and urging Americans to understand the pain blacks felt over the case.
Obama appeared in the White House press briefing room to offer his thoughts on the trial of George Zimmerman, the Sanford, Florida, neighbourhood watch volunteer who was found not guilty of murder for shooting Martin, 17, in a struggle in 2012.
Without saying so specifically, Obama sided with those who say the shooting need not have happened, expressing sympathy to the Martin family and praising them for the “incredible grace and dignity with which they’ve dealt with the entire situation.”
