Getting tough, again: As he did in 2016 campaign, Trump demanding law and order.
But some Republican cohorts recoil at ‘stunt’
– Acknowledging the “pain” felt by millions of Americans, President Donald Trump called for “healing, not hatred” over the weekend.
On Monday, as peaceful protesters were cleared from a park near the White House, the president stood in the Rose Garden, described himself as “your president of law and order,” and demanded local officials “dominate the streets” – or else.
The shift in tone underscored a change of direction from the White House and its conservative allies: The increasingly confrontational demonstrations across the U.S., observers said, have given Trump an opportunity to reprise his get-tough approach to law enforcement from the 2016 campaign.
“We’re not going to solve our issues of racial inequality or feelings of economic hopelessness brought on by the coronavirus pandemic overnight, but we can stop the riots and protests with bold, definitive and unapologetic action,” said Jason Miller, a senior communications adviser to Trump’s 2016 campaign.
The president brandished that message with a high degree of drama and controversy Monday as Secret Service, military police and other law enforcement agencies cleared a nearby park of protesters – their tear gas and flashbang canisters punctuating Trump’s words. Trump then strolled through the park to stand outside a historic church vandalized the night before.
Critics, including some Republicans, described the event as a “photo-op” and a “stunt.”
Sen. Ben Sasse, a Nebraska Republican who occasionally criticizes Trump, slammed the president for not only clearing the park but also holding up a Bible when he arrived at St. John’s Episcopal Church near the White House.
“There is no right to riot, no right to destroy others’ property and no right to throw rocks at police,” Sasse said. “But there is a fundamental – a constitutional – right to protest, and I’m against clearing out a peaceful protest for a photo-op that treats the word of God as a political prop.”
Many Trump supporters viewed the walk as a moment of strength and a demonstration of the president’s REWASHINGTON solve to end the violence.
“I swore an oath to uphold the laws of our nation, and that is exactly what I will do,” Trump said, asserting that if governors did not call up the National Guard to quell the violence, he would do it for them. “We will end it now.”
The display drew fierce criticism from Democrats, who noted that at the exact moment the president was describing himself as an “ally” of peaceful protesters, military police were clearing a park of protesters who were demonstrating without incident.
“The fascist speech Donald Trump just delivered verged on a declaration of war against American citizens,” said Sen. Ron Wyden, D-ore. “I fear for our country tonight and will not stop defending America against Trump’s assault.”