President Obama has become notorious among his Missouri supporters for not visiting the embattled city, and the grandfather of the teen shot by police there a week ago is perturbed over the President’s distance. This week he went on TV to remind Obama he voted for him and urge the President to make his way to Ferguson to stand with his family.
In an appearance on MSNBC, Michael Brown’s grandfather, Lesley McSpadden, insisted that it was time for “my President to step forward” and take action in Ferguson.
With the rest of the Brown family, McSpadden has spent the week rallying support for their fallen family member, and Obama’s lackluster response has vexed them all.
McSpadden told MSNBC that it was “a thousand percent wrong” that his son was shot by Ferguson officer Darren Wilson. He went on to characterize his grandson’s death as a murder and seemed to call for officer Darren Wilson to be put in prison.
“If I was to go out there and brutally murder someone and shoot them six times, ask yourself, would I be incarcerated? The answer is yes,” McSpadden said.
However, the teen’s grandfather had sharp words for President Obama, as well.
“America is built on people coming together at times like this, and now is the time for my President to step forward,” McSpadden said. “I want to say this to my President: I voted for you, so you ought to able to meet with me.”
The President has taken criticism from many directions for his response over Ferguson, or the lack thereof. The police union, the Fraternal Order of Police, has criticized Obama’s reaction to Ferguson. The President also took criticism for vacationing while Ferguson burned. Moreover, many of the protesters on the streets of Ferguson have been heard complaining of the President’s lack of attention to the situation on the ground.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com.