George Floyd protests: Trump claims Minneapolis was 'under siege' as officials implore president to remove military presence

Latest updates as demonstrations continued in wake of police killing

Rev Al Sharpton gives eulogy at George Floyd memorial: 'I'm more hopeful today than ever'

Donald Trump has claimed the city of Minneapolis was “under siege” before the US National Guard was called in during a press conference on Friday in which he implored other cities facing major protests to call the federal government for assistance.

“They were ripping that place apart,” the president said about the city in which George Floyd was killed at the hands of a white police officer named Derek Chauvin, who has since been charged with second-degree murder. “It was under siege like nobody’s ever seen.”

Washington DC Mayor Muriel Bowser meanwhile called on Mr Trump to remove “all extraordinary federal law enforcement and military presence” from the city as protests have continued for ten days.

In lengthy White House remarks amid sweeping social unrest, a rising virus death toll and Depression-level unemployment, the Republican president suggested that even Floyd would be pleased with the latest economic news.

"Hopefully George is looking down right now and saying this is a great thing that's happening for our country," Mr Trump said. "This is a great day for him. It's a great day for everybody."

Putting words in the dead man's mouth drew quick criticism, including from likely presidential foe Joe Biden, who said it was "despicable."

A few blocks away, city workers painted a huge "Black Lives Matter" sign on 16th Street leading to the White House.

On the economy, Mr Trump said an economic rebound was the answer to racial inequality, calling it "the greatest thing that can happen for race relations."

Mr Trump was quick to seize the positive jobs report at a time when his political standing is at one of the weakest points of his presidency less than five months before the general election. Just two in 10 voters believe the country is headed in the right direction, a Monmouth University poll found earlier in the week.

Few things matter more to Mr Trump's political future than the state of the US economy, which was all but shut down by state governments this spring to prevent greater spread of the deadly coronavirus. Defying health experts, the president has aggressively encouraged states to re-open and has assailed state leaders by name who resist.

At the same time, he's taken an uneven approach to explosive racial tensions in the wake of Floyd's death. As he has in recent days, Mr Trump on Friday offered a sympathetic message to Floyd in one breath and lashed out at protests in his name the next.

Local governments "have to dominate the streets," Mr Trump said. "You can't let what's happening happen."

The president spoke in the Rose Garden after the Labor Department said that US employers added 2.5 million workers to their payrolls last month. Economists had been expecting them instead to slash 8 million jobs in continuing fallout from the pandemic.

The jobless rate, at 13.3 percent, is still on par with what the nation witnessed during the Great Depression. And for the second straight month, the Labor Department acknowledged making errors in counting the unemployed during the virus outbreak, saying the real figure is worse than the numbers indicate.

Still, after weeks of dire predictions by economists that unemployment in May could hit 20 percent or more, the news was seen as evidence that the collapse may have bottomed out in April.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. Check out The Independent's live coverage below:

Key Points

• Police filmed knocking eldery man unconscious at New York protest
• Trump told protesters 'won’t be silenced by tear gas' as civil rights groups launch legal action against president
• George Floyd's family announce march to Washington at memorial service 

[5 June 2020 20:10 · Chris Riotta]

Nation's capital approves "Black Lives Matter" painting in streets heading to White House

The mayor tweeted this video earlier today showing the new BLM painting in big, bold yellow colours: 

[5 June 2020 20:38 · Chris Riotta]

Trump blasts DC mayor over tensions with National Guard

The president did not mince words in his comments to DC Mayor Muriel Bowser. The angry tweets come after the mayor approved a Black Lives Matter painting to stretch across the blocks leading up to the White House earlier in the day:

[5 June 2020 21:06 · Chris Riotta]

Entire police unit resigns 'in disgust' because two officers were suspended for pushing elderly man to ground

Justin Vallejo writes: The entire 57-member Emergency Response Team of the Buffalo Police Department has resigned after two members of the unit were suspended for pushing a 75-year-old to the ground during the George Floyd protests.

[5 June 2020 21:20 · Chris Riotta]

This concludes The Independent's live coverage.