President Obama talks Ferguson on Jimmy Kimmel Live, says there's 'no excuse for criminal acts'

President Obama and Jimmy Kimmel
(Image credit: Facebook.com/JimmyKimmelLive)

During his Thursday night appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live, President Obama said there is "no excuse for criminal acts" in Ferguson, Missouri, and that he wants to see law enforcement and protesters work together following the shooting of two police officers.

"Whoever fired those shots shouldn't detract from the issue," he said. "They're criminals. They need to be arrested." Later, he added, "What we have to make sure of is that the folks who disregard and disrespect the other side, people who resort to violence — that they're marginalized." He reminded people that "in the same way that you can't generalize about police officers who do an extraordinarily tough job — overwhelmingly, they do it professionally — you can't generalize about protesters who it turns out had some very legitimate grievances."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.