'He didn't even give me the opportunity to speak': George Floyd's brother says President Trump wouldn't let him get a word in during their conversation as he tearfully demands death penalty against all four Minneapolis cops

The bereaved brother of George Floyd said President Trump didn’t let him get a word in during a condolence call.

Philonise Floyd, the brother of the 46-year-old black man who died in the custody of Minneapolis police on Monday after an officer knelt on his neck for several minutes cutting off his air supply, said the president ‘kept pushing me off.’

‘It was so fast, he didn’t even give me the opportunity to speak,’ Floyd told MSNBC host Al Sharpton on Saturday.

‘It was hard. I was trying to talk to him, but he kept pushing me off like “I don’t want to hear what you’re talking about.’

George Floyd’s death on Monday has sparked nationwide protests as well as riots that have included violent clashes with police, widespread looting, and arson in several major cities across the country.

+11

+11

President Trump (left) on Friday spoke to the family of George Floyd, the 46-year-old black man who died in police custody in Minneapolis on Monday. Floyd's brother, Philonise (right), said the president 'didn't even give me the opportunity to speak' during the conversation

MSNBC Privacy Policy

Philonise Floyd said that he had a simple message for the president.

‘I just told him: “I want justice”.’

He said: ‘I said that I couldn’t believe that they committed a modern-day lynching in broad daylight.

‘I can’t stand for that. I can’t.’

+11

Floyd's death has touched off nationwide outrage as protesters and demonstrators staged riots in major American cities. The above image from Saturday shows police officers in riot gear in downtown Miami

Philonise Floyd then broke down in tears while talking about his brother.

‘It hurt me,’ he said of his brother’s death.

‘I just don’t understand, man.

‘Why we gotta go through this? Why we gotta go through this pain, man?

‘I love my brother. I’m never going to see him again.’

DailyMail.com has sought comment from the White House.

During a news conference at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Saturday, the president said he expressed sympathy to the Floyd family.

‘Yesterday, I spoke to George's family and expressed the sorrow of our entire nation for their loss,’ Trump said.

‘I stand before you as a friend and ally to every American seeking justice and peace, and I stand before you in firm opposition to anyone exploiting this tragedy to loot, rob, and menace.

‘Healing not hatred, justice not chaos are the mission at hand.’

The president has been criticized for several tweets that seemed to vow a harsh crackdown against protesters, including one in which he referred to rioters and demonstrators as ‘thugs’ and warning that ‘when the looting starts, the shooting starts.’

On Saturday, however, the president tried to strike a different note.

‘I understand the pain that people are feeling,’ Trump said.

‘We support the right of peaceful protests and we hear their pleas, but what we are now seeing on the streets of our cities has nothing to do with the memory of George Floyd.

‘The violence and vandalism is being led by Antifa and other radical left-wing groups who are terrorizing the innocent, destroying jobs, hurting businesses and burning down buildings.

‘The main victims of this horrible, horrible situation are the citizens who live in these once-lovely communities... The mobs are devastating the life's work of good people and destroying their dreams.

‘We support the overwhelming majority of police officers who are incredible in every way and devoted to public service.’

Derek Chauvin, the Minneapolis police officer who was filmed pressing his knee against George Floyd’s neck while he struggled to breathe and was handcuffed, has been charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter.

During his interview on MSNBC, Philonise Floyd was angry that authorities in Minnesota have yet to charge the other three police officers involved in his brother’s death.

The family is also seeking more serious charges against Chauvin, who ignored Floyd’s desperate pleas while he was suffocating.

Those three officers - Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao - have all been fired by the Minneapolis Police Department.

‘They all need to be convicted of first-degree murder, and given the death penalty because they didn't care about what they wanted to do with my brother,’ Philonise Floyd told MSNBC.

‘[George Floyd] wasn't a person to them, he was scum. He was nothing.

‘I can imagine how many people they did like that. I don't need them on the streets to kill anybody else.

‘I'm hurt, my family is hurt. His kids are hurt.

‘They will grow up without a father.’

Philonise Floyd added: ‘Everybody is crying and in pain right now. So if they could do anything please arrest those other officers.’

Sharpton said he will travel to Minneapolis to deliver the eulogy at George Floyd's funeral, though the MSNBC host misspoke.

Floyd's funeral will be held in his hometown of Houston, Texas, according to Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner. A date and time have yet to be scheduled.