National security adviser rejects the idea that 'systemic racism' plagues U.S. law enforcement

National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien still believes it's just "a few bad apples" within U.S. law enforcement agencies that have caused problems leading up to the current nationwide unrest, like the Minneapolis police officer who put his knee on George Floyd's neck earlier this week before Floyd died in custody.

CNN's Jake Tapper asked O'Brien on Sunday if he believed systemic racism was at the heart of issues plaguing American law enforcement. O'Brien said he doesn't believe that's the case, arguing that 99.9 percent of officers are "great Americans" and his "heroes." The officers who don't fall into that category, he said, "need to be rooted out."

O'Brien isn't alone in feeling this way — Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) recently made a similar argument. But, ABC News' Pierre Thomas, who is black, offered a different opinion Sunday. While he did agree with O'Brien that the majority of the nation's police officers are good people who work very trying jobs, he said the issue isn't only centered around police brutality. Rather, what's driving the protests are the "indignities black men and women and people of color face all the time," explaining that, among other things, he's been pulled over simply for driving a nice car multiple times. "I think we're at a point where people are saying 'we're sick and tired of being sick and tired,'" he said. Tim O'Donnell

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