As protests over the killing of Daunte Wright continued into another night this week, CNN interviewed a protester who seemingly mocked former President Donald Trump. A protester in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota claimed to have brought "soup for [his] family" to a demonstration.
CNN's Sara Sidner was documenting the scene in Minnesota as protests continue each night this week. Sidner spoke to a protester identified as "Tiger" on Wednesday, who explained his involvement.
But it was his literal wink to the camera that caught everyone's attention.
The protester, Tiger, said:
"I'm just standing here today with soup for my family and we're just watching all this unfold. it's very unfortunate."
Sidner followed up, asking if Tiger was planning to throw the can at the police.
Tiger assured her:
"Absolutely not. Like I said, it's for my family."
The very smooth and quick responses had people laughing online.
The protester is making fun of a comment Donald Trump made last year about the Black Lives Matter protesters.
At the end of July 2020, Trump spoke with the National Association of Police Organizations. Footage from the event showed Trump claiming protesters were weaponizing cans of soup since they're supposedly easier to throw than a brick.
He said:
"And then they have cans of soup. Soup. And they throw the cans of soup."
"That's better than a brick because you can't throw a brick; it's too heavy. But a can of soup, you can really put some power into that, right?"
But it was the deniability of the improvised weapon he was really worried about.
"And then, when they get caught, they say, 'No, this is soup for my family.' They're so innocent. 'This is soup for my family.' It's incredible."
Since then, the idea of "soup for my family" has become a meme in progressive spaces.
A Twitter profile seemingly belonging to Tiger, responded to the video to assure people that the soup was indeed for his family.
Wink.
The mythological trickster-like persona the protester displayed in the interview had a lot of people online thirsty.
Thirsty for soup.
Loki, Šung'mánitu, Anansi, Narada, Sun Wukong... is that you‽‽
As the nights of protest continue in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, tensions have risen in Chicago where bodycam footage of another police shooting was released.
The footage showed Adam Toledo, a 13-year-old, shot by police after putting his hands up and facing the officer.
Meanwhile the defense rested this week in the trial of the officer who killed George Floyd.
How law enforcement in the United States might change—as incidents of violence against BIPOC draw public outrage—remains to be seen.
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