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

Jake Tapper and Robert O'Brien.
(Image credit: Screenshot/CNN)

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."

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Tim O'Donnell

Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.