Iran and China are using the George Floyd protests to undermine US criticism of their own authoritarianism

  • America’s adversaries are using the protests over George Floyd’s death to dismiss US criticism of their own authoritarianism.
  • Iran used the backlash against the US government and law enforcement to undermine the US’s criticisms of how it treats its own citizens and protesters.
  • And China is accusing the US of hypocrisy for urging it to listen to pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong.
  • Protests in the US have reached as many as 140 cities, and solidarity protests are taking place in countries around the world.

Iran and China are using the protests that have swept the US after George Floyd’s death to undermine the US’s criticism of their own authoritarianism.

The death of Floyd, a black man who died after a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for several minutes. has sparked anti-police brutality protests in as many as 140 cities. It has also sparked solidarity protests in countries around the world.

President Donald Trump has largely failed to calm the protesters, telling governors instead that they are “weak” and urged them to “dominate” the demonstrations. On Monday, police in Washington, DC, used tear gas on peaceful protesters in a park near the White House so Trump could go to a nearby church to take photos.

Read the article by Sinead Baker in Business Insider Australia.