President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were in Atlanta Friday afternoon.
Both Biden and Harris met with local Asian leaders to address the growing concerns in the Asian American community. The meeting follows this week's deadly shootings in the city. Six of the eight victims were women of Asian descent. Shooting suspect Robert Aaron Long told police the killings were not racially motivated and instead blamed his "addiction to sex."
Afterward, Biden publicly addressed the violence, saying, "once again, we need to come together with core values."
He added, "too many Asian Americans are fearing for their safety." He stressed that hate and violence often hid in plain sight and called on everyone not to be complicit.
The President and Vice President also made a planned visit to the CDC.
Biden praised their work during the coronavirus pandemic, saying, "this is a war, and you are the frontline troops." He added that the nation's top doctors and scientists speak "truth and science to power."