Surgeon General Jerome Adams said George Floyd 'could have been me'

• US Surgeon General Jerome Adams said George Floyd's death in police custody "could have been me."
• Adams POLITICO's "Pulse Check" podcast that he and other Black Americans saw themselves in Floyd's death, which rang familiar to the times he had repeatedly experienced racial profiling and been unnecessarily detained by police and security.
• "That could be me who is just seen as a black man and not as the surgeon general of the United States — especially if I'm not wearing a uniform," Adams said on the podcast.

US Surgeon General Jerome Adams said he and other Black Americans saw themselves in George Floyd's death in police custody.

Adams told POLITICO's "Pulse Check" podcast that he felt Floyd's death at 46 "could have been me," considering he has repeatedly experienced racial profiling and been detained by police and security that accused him of things he didn't do.

"That could be me, pulled over for speeding five miles over the speed limit. That could be me with a busted tail light," Adams said. "That could be me who is just seen as a black man and not as the surgeon general of the United States — especially if I'm not wearing a uniform, but I'm casually dressed in my hoodie and tennis shoes and athletic apparel — and that could be me on the side of a road with a knee in my neck."

Adams said he wasn't alone in reflecting on Floyd's death, which has come to represent just one victim of police brutality against Black Americans.

"I think really it's why you have so many people angry and frustrated, because they saw that. They saw that," Adams said. "They didn't see George Floyd alone. They saw themselves. They saw their faces there with that knee on their necks."

House Majority Whip James Clyburn also commented on the personal threat systemic racism in the police poses to him and other Black Americans. Clyburn said on CNN's "State of the Union," that he did not grow up in fear of law enforcement, but now fears officers.

"This did not call for lethal force and I don't know what's in the culture that would make this guy do that," Clyburn said, pointing to the killing of Rayshard Brooks, who was Black, by an Atlanta police officer.

"It's got to be the culture, it's got to be the system," Clyburn said.

Adams said he understands "the anger, the frustration, the fear" that is driving many Americans to go out and protest even during the coronavirus pandemic, but said the virus is still a health threat and those going outside should keep wearing masks.

In the early weeks of the novel coronavirus, Adams was vocal about the unique impact early data suggested coronavirus had on minority communities. In one of his April appearances, he warned people of color to "avoid alcohol, tobacco, and drugs," which became a controversial comment after some criticized him for stereotyping.

After the April 10 press conference, Adams appeared to be pushed back from the White House coronavirus response, which some experts told Politico was a loss to the federal response considering the outbreak's impact on communities of color.

Adams told the podcast that "some people out there have mischaracterized my position in regards to people of color and Covid," pointing to his oft-made comments about circumstances that affect minority communities like relying on essential jobs and public transportation.