Ultra-conservative evangelical leader Pat Robertson delivered a surprisingly searing rant about the recent “onslaught” of police violence, blasting former officers Kim Potter and Derek Chauvin while saying cops have “got to stop this stuff.”
During his 700 Club broadcast on Thursday, Robertson and co-host Terry Meeuwsen discussed the shooting death of Daunte Wright, noting that Potter—who has been charged with manslaughter—has claimed that she confused her pistol and Taser when she shot and killed Wright during a traffic stop.
Using plastic models of the two weapons, Robertson and Meeuwsen demonstrated the difference in size and weight between the sidearm and Taser, prompting Robertson to say there’s “no comparison” between the two.
ADVERTISEMENT
“Now how she made the difference, when she shot that poor guy to death, saying this is what I thought was my Taser,” Robertson fumed while wielding a plastic handgun. “And if you can’t tell the difference in the feel of those things, it’s crazy!”
The longtime right-wing activist, meanwhile, assured viewers that he is firmly “pro-police” and believes that “we need their service” before continuing his criticism.
“They do a good job, but if they don’t stop this onslaught, they cannot do this,” he exclaimed.
Robertson then moved on to Chauvin, who is currently on trial for murder for the killing of George Floyd, and the recent Virginia traffic stop that featured two police officers violently threatening and arresting Army Lt. Caron Nazario.
“You know the police in Virginia picked up a lieutenant in the Army and began to give him trouble, and our state police are highly trained, but why they don’t stop this, and this thing that’s going on in Minnesota with the Derek Chauvin. I mean they ought to put him under the jail,” he seethed. “He has caused so much trouble by kneeling on the death of George Floyd, I mean his neck, it’s just terrible what’s happening.”
Robertson added: “And the police, why don’t they open their eyes to what the public relations are, they’ve got to stop this stuff!”
Meeuwsen would then wonder aloud if the answer was “more training” for the police, prompting Robertson to say the solution was actually to increase police pay in order to attract better candidates.
“I think the problem is they’ve got to pay them more,” he said. “We don’t have the finest in the police department. They’re low-paid people… it’s not a question of training, it’s a question of hiring a more superior workforce, and we aren’t doing it.”
“But we need police, we need them, and we need to honor them, and I’m all for it, but at the same time, we cannot have a bunch of clowns running around who are underpaid and who really are not the best and brightest,” Robertson concluded.
