Trump riffs on economy, 9/11, AIDS vaccines, and school choice during speech about police reform

President Trump spoke from the White House Rose Garden on Tuesday to address his executive order on police form, but, as is so often the case, he eventually drifted off topic.

The president touched on subjects ranging from the bravery police officers showed during the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, which is related to the executive order insofar as it involves law enforcement, to the economy, which he boasted would rebound from the coronavirus pandemic.

While expressing his optimism about the current global health crisis, he also discussed developments in AIDS research, inaccurately stating scientists had developed a vaccine for the virus, before seemingly catching the mistake.

The Week

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

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

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

He also wandered onto the issue of school choice, calling it the "civil rights statement of the year" — a bold declaration considering the massive protests against police brutality and systemic racism that have swept the nation were the driving force behind the executive order.