Obama delivers forceful statement on shooting of police in Baton Rouge: 'These cowards speak for no one'
In a forceful statement Sunday afternoon, Obama condemned the recent attacks on police officers in Dallas and Baton Rouge, promising that "justice will be done."
"For the second time in two weeks, police officers who put their lives on the line for ours every day were doing their job when they were killed in a cowardly and reprehensible assault," Obama said. "These are attacks on public servants, on the rule of law, and on civilized society, and they have to stop."
The statement continued:
"There is no justification for violence against law enforcement. None. These attacks are the work of cowards who speak for no one. They right no wrongs. They advance no causes. The officers in Baton Rouge; the officers in Dallas - they were our fellow Americans, part of our community, part of our country, with people who loved and needed them, and who need us now - all of us - to be at our best."
Obama's statement Sunday echoed his remarks during the memorial service for five Dallas police officers who died earlier this month after a gunman targeted city police officers following a peaceful protest. In a speech early last week, Obama called for unity in the face of violence.
"Dallas, I'm here to say we must reject such despair. I'm here to insist that we are not as divided as we seem," Obama said.
Obama was one of many public figures on Sunday who spoke out against the attack.
In a Facebook post Sunday, presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump denounced the shooting, claiming that a "lack of leadership" has encouraged violence against law enforcement
"We grieve for the officers killed in Baton Rouge today. How many law enforcement and people have to die because of a lack of leadership in our country? We demand law and order," Trump wrote.