How the 2020 George Floyd Protests Are Haunting Democrats in 2025

Five years ago, as grief and anger over George Floyd’s murder ignited national protests, top Democrats joined the demonstrations, called for cutting police budgets and, in a ham-fisted effort at solidarity, even knelt in kente cloth at the Capitol. Now, as President Trump spoils for a fight by sending unwanted troops to Los Angeles to stamp out protests and help with immigration raids, Democrats scarred by recent elections have a starkly different message for demonstrators: Don’t play into his hands. Five years after the 2020 racial justice movement prompted a wave of cultural changes and then an enduring political backlash,...