Nancy Pelosi FORGETS George Floyd’s name while lauding police reform bill inspired by his death and calls him ‘George Kirby’ instead
- Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she was ‘very proud’ to honor the name of ‘George Kirby’ while referring to a House police reform bill named after George Floyd
- Pelosi was answering a journalist’s question about the House police reform bill during a Friday press conference
- In her response, Pelosi reminisced about meeting Floyd’s brother at the time he was speaking before the House
- Pelosi said that his name would ‘always be remembered’ because the bill would be named in his memory
- The House speaker said she would recommend naming the legislation after Floyd, but only if his brother felt it was ‘worthy’ of his name
- Pelosi referred to the late Floyd as ‘George Kirby’ who was a prominent African American comedian and actor in the 1960s and 70s
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi ended up mixing up names on Friday as she declared a Democratic bill in the House on police reform that had been named after George Floyd, to be worthy of ‘George Kirby’s name.’
Pelosi was speaking to reporters at the time and was intending to refer to Floyd, the Minneapolis man who died in police custody last month after his neck was knelt upon for almost nine minutes.
George Kirby was a black comedian and singer who was popular in the 60s and 70s who passed away in 1995.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she was ‘very proud’ to honor the name of ‘George Kirby’ while referring to a House police reform bill named after George Floyd
In her response, Pelosi reminisced about meeting George Floyd’s brother at the time he was speaking before the House
George Floyd’s death has led to calls in reforms to policing across the country.
‘And I said ‘I’ll recommend that to the Judiciary Committee and to the Congressional Black Caucus who have shaped the bill, but I only will do that if you tell me that this legislation is worthy of George Kirby’s name,’ and he said it is, and so we’re very proud, we’re very proud to carry that,’ Pelosi said as she was speaking to reporters.
The gaffe was quickly highlighted by Republicans who used the moment to accuse Democrats of blocking efforts to introduce police reform.
‘So Nancy Pelosi referred to George Floyd as ‘George Kirby’ and Chuck Schumer called him ‘Floyd Taylor’ and ‘George Taylor,” tweeted Matt Wolking, deputy director of communications at the Trump campaign. ‘These are the people blocking police accountability legislation,’ he said.
Pelosi referred to the late Floyd as ‘George Kirby’ who was a prominent African American comedian and actor in the 1960s and 70s
Matt Wolking, deputy director of Communications at the Trump campaign, was quick to pounce on Pelosi’s mistake
There have been a host of other unforced errors when it comes to George Floyd’s name, according to Fox News.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer referred to him as Floyd Taylor on Wednesday, mixing up the names of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, although he immediately corrected himself.
Taylor was killed by police earlier this year in Kentucky.
On Thursday, the House passed the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act.
The law outlaws chokeholds, reforms qualified immunity that protects police officers from civil lawsuits and also aims to create a national database of police conduct. The act also lowers the bar for police officers to face criminal prosecution.
The act is unlikely to pass in the Republican-controlled Senate.