* “I don’t think it’s a coincidence that some of the best-run places (in COVID response) have been run by women: New Zealand, Germany, Taiwan. And where we’ve seen things go most badly wrong–the U.S., Brazil, Russia, the U.K.–it’s a lot of male ego and bluster.”–Susan Rice, former national security adviser under President Barack Obama.
* “African-Americans shouldn’t feel helpless, because the black vote does matter–it never mattered more. It is at the heart of the fight to take back America. … Joe Biden would be retired if not for the black vote. … In November, the number of black voters who turn out in the crucial swing states of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin is likely to be the deciding factor in the election.”–Fox News analyst Juan Williams, author of “What the Hell Do You Have to Lose?”
* “Boards should hold themselves and management accountable for specific objectives around recruitment, retention and promotion of African-Americans and other minorities. Only when companies and management are accountable in ways that are quantifiable will we see real systemic transformation of corporate America.”–Darren Walker, the African-American president of the Ford Foundation.
* “(George) Floyd stands apart … Emmett Till for a digital generation.”–Karen Attiah, Washington Post.
* “The African-American community is near and dear to (Trump’s) heart.”–White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany.
* “It is status quo thinking to believe that putting more police on the streets creates more safety. That’s wrong. … You know what creates more safety? Funding public schools, affordable housing, increased homeownership, job skill development, jobs, access to capital for those who want to start small businesses or are running small businesses in communities.”–Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif.
* “The irony of training at bases named for those who took up arms against the United States and for the right to enslave others, is inescapable to anyone paying attention.”–David Petraeus, former CIA director and four-star Army general.
* “Our history as the Greatest Nation in the World will not be tampered with. Respect our Military!”–Donald Trump, in tweeting that he would veto the entire National Defense Authorization Act if it were to include language that would change the name of military bases named after Confederate generals.
* “Maybe–just maybe–the Civil War is coming to an end. And perhaps Donald J. Trump, not Jefferson Davis, will go down in history as the last president of the Confederacy.”–Eugene Robinson, Washington Post.
* “I am hard-pressed to identify any significant Trump decision during my tenure that wasn’t driven by re-election calculations.”–Former National Security Adviser John Bolton, the author of “The Room Where It Happened.”
* “If the election were held today, the result could easily resemble 2008, the closest thing to a landslide our divided system has recently produced.”–Ross Douthat, New York Times.
* “Where’s my copy of ‘Atlas Shrugged’? It’s in the shredder.”–Stephen Bannon, former Trump chief strategist.
* “In an uncertain world, time-tested values like honesty and integrity, empathy and compassion–that’s the only real currency in life. Treating people right will never, ever fail you.”–Michelle Obama, in her YouTube address to the Class of 2020.
* “(Jacksonville will) showcase Florida’s energy, facilities, entrepreneurship and commitment to bring together the delegates of the Republican Party at a historic time in our nation’s history.”–Gov. Ron DeSantis.
* “Clearly, the RNC wants a large event with a lot of people. I want that too.”–Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry.
* “The landscape of policing has changed dramatically… . If there’s a police officer in the city of Tampa that does not want a body-worn camera, then I suggest you turn your badge in.”–Tampa Police Chief Brian Dugan.
* “We are observing police malpractice in a way that heretofore, absent cameras and whatever, we weren’t able to observe it.”–Goliath J. Davis, St. Petersburg’s first African-American police chief.
* “A huge win for our city.”–Mayor Jane Castor, on the announcement that Fisher Investments, an investment adviser that manages more than $120 billion in assets, has opened its first office on the East Coast of the U.S. in Tampa. It expects to eventually hire 600 employees.
* “A building like ours is made to welcome crowds of people. And being in a crowd of people is what we can’t do right now.”–Jill Witecki, Tampa Theatre’s director of marketing.