US PRESIDENT DONALD Trump has suggested that George Floyd, whose death sparked days of rioting across the US, would be “looking down” at the nation and be happy that the economy was apparently improving. 

Addressing reporters today, Trump said that new statistics showing the US economy regained 2.5 million jobs in May was good news for everybody including Floyd, who prosecutors allege was murdered by a police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, late last month. 

Trump said: “Hopefully George is looking down and saying this is a great thing that’s happening for our country,” he said.

“It’s a great day for him, it’s a great day for everybody. This is a great day in terms of equality.”

He added that the improving economy was “the greatest thing that can happen for race relations”.

Trump’s opponent in November’s election, Joe Biden, was quick to launch an attack on the Republic incumbent.

“George Floyd’s last words, ‘I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe,’ have echoed all across this nation…For the president to try to put any other words in the mouth of George Floyd I frankly think is despicable.”

The US economy regained 2.5 million jobs in May and the unemployment rate dropped as coronavirus pandemic shutdowns began to ease.

The data showed the largest increase in jobs on record, which pushed the unemployment rate down to 13.3% from 14.7% in April.

The report defied even the most optimistic expectations among economists, who had been expecting a payroll decline of more than eight million and a jobless rate of 20% or higher.

Trump, who is counting on a  solid economy to convince voters he deserves a second term, immediately cheered the data and said the gains proved the combination of rapid government support and a push to reopen businesses was working.

“Today is probably the greatest comeback in American history, but it’s not going to stop here,” Trump told reporters at the White House, saying the recovery will continue unless “the wrong people get in here,” an apparent reference to the November presidential election.

Trump, who likened the pandemic to a hurricane, has never wavered from his confidence in a sharp, “V-shaped” rebound.

“This is better than a ‘V,’ it’s a rocket ship!”

With reporting by © – AFP, 2020