Joe Biden Addresses Nation After Derek Chauvin Verdict

During a speech Tuesday evening (April 20) at the White House, President Joe Biden called Derek Chauvin’s guilty verdict over the murder of George Floyd “a giant step forward” for the nation’s fight against systemic racism.

“It’s not enough,” Biden said of the verdict. “We can’t stop here.”

Joined by Vice President Kamala Harris, the president called for Congress to act swiftly to address policing reform.

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Biden’s speech comes after he spoke with Floyd’s family following the verdict, telling them, “We’re all so relieved.”

Yesterday, while the jury deliberated in sequestration, Biden said he was praying for “the right verdict” in the trial of Chauvin, a former Minneapolis police officer who killed Floyd.

“This is a day of justice,” Harris told the family after watching the verdict with Biden in the private dining room off the Oval Office.

Attorney Ben Crump, an attorney of George Floyd’s family, posted a video on Twitter of a phone call from Biden and Harris to the family. When asked by a family member how he was doing, Biden replied, “Feeling better now. Nothing is going to make it all better, but at least now there is some justice.”

After 14 days of testimony and 11 hours of deliberation, a jury of 12 reached a verdict in the trial of former Minneapolis policeman Derek Chauvin, who killed George Floyd on May 25, 2020. Chauvin was found guilty on all three charges: 2nd degree murder, 3rd degree murder and 2nd degree manslaughter.

He could face a maximum sentence of up to 75 years in prison. Chauvin’s sentencing will occur within the next eight weeks, CBS News reports.

The three other officers involved in Floyd’s death — Thomas Lane, Tou Thao and J. Alexander Kueng — will be tried later this summer. They face charges of aiding and abetting second-degree murder and manslaughter. All parties have pleaded not guilty.

Watch President Biden’s full speech about Derek Chauvin’s guilty verdict below.