Obama: ‘If I Had a Son, He’d Look Like Trayvon’

President Obama discussed the Trayvon Martin case for the first time on Friday, calling it a “national tragedy.” The president treaded carefully, so as not to interfere with the Department of Justice’s investigation into the matter, but gave Martin’s parents some words of solace. He said:

It is absolutely imperative that we investigate every aspect of this. … But my main message is to the parents of Trayvon Martin. You know, if I had a son he’d look like Trayvon. And I think they are right to expect that all of us as Americans are going to take this with the seriousness it deserves and get to the bottom of exactly what happened.

Watch here:

A month ago, 17-year old Trayvon Martin was pursued, confronted and killed by George Zimmerman, a white neighborhood volunteer, on his walk home to his father’s fiancé’s house. Zimmerman has claimed he was acting in self-defense and has yet to be arrested. Martin had only a bag of Skittles and a can of iced tea when he was shot.

The tragedy has sparked a media firestorm, a spurred massive student protests across the nation. 

Naima Ramos-Chapman is an associate editor at Campus Progress.

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