A Kamloops city councillor says he’s feeling anxious about violent protests happening in cities all over the U.S. and what has led to them.

Speaking at city council yesterday, Arjun Singh says he is “horribly upset” by actions of U.S. President Donald Trump and people who are stoking divisions based on race.

“Racism still exists, and it is horrible to have a leader of the United States who we have right now who seems to be fermenting it, in incredibly horrible, horrible ways.”

On Monday, barely an hour after stating he “supports any and all peaceful protesters,” Trump had police use tear gas and rubber bullets to push back peaceful protesters, to allow him to do a photo op holding a bible. Many reports out of the U.S. say that was an attempt by the President to boost his public image, after reports surfaced that he was rushed to an underground bunker on Friday night when protests were happening outside.

In his dialogue on Monday, Trump said he does not wish for the death of George Floyd to be in vain, the black man who was killed on May 25 after a white Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes. However, in that speech, Trump did not condemn racism, or speak at all about issues with racism, which is what has sparked widespread protests across the country.

Singh says Kamloops has always stood up to racism, and he encourages people to “reach out to folks who might be a little different from you” and might need a little support, saying many might feel impacted by the incidents south of the border.

“Racism really exists because people don’t have a sense of the other. And I think it’s really important for us to think about how we can reach out to folks who might be different.”

Singh also mentioned the peaceful demonstration planned to happen tomorrow at noon at Riverside Park, which has been organized by an Instagram account called kamloops.blm.movement. He says he supports the initiative, and hopes people can maintain social distancing as well because of COVID-19.