The collective media immediately portrayed Floyd as a doting father, an aspiring rapper, and a hardworking bar bouncer who once had hopes of being a professional basketball player. A "gentle giant" is how Floyd’s relatives remembered their deceased loved one, a description somberly regurgitated by news outlets, social media influencers, and politicians of both parties.
President Trump, although he clearly had nothing to do with the incident and quickly condemned what had happened, nonetheless was blamed for Floyd’s demise and the subsequent chaos. "Since the start of his term, the President has turned the Oval Office into an instrument of racial, ethnic and cultural division," Time magazine claimed in just one example of the deceptive media fault-finding spin. "Given the tone from the top and the grassroots anger, it’s a surprise this confrontation didn’t come sooner."
Over time, the real George Floyd came to light, as did the circumstances of his death. But those responsible for creating the mythical character allegedly representative of America’s systemic white supremacy and police brutality curse never acknowledged the truth—even as the hero worship of Floyd has slowly, and noticeably, disappeared since 2020.