Trump has behaved like a Nazi in his response, says top ex aide Mattis
DONALD Trump’s former defence secretary yesterday likened his response to the Black Lives Matter protests to that of a Nazi.
Jim Mattis, a revered US Marine general, spoke out after Mr Trump’s threats to use the military to ‘dominate’ the streets where fellow Americans are protesting over the death of George Floyd.
The US President had urged governors to call out the National Guard to contain protests that turned violent and warned that he could send in active duty military forces if they did not.
Mr Mattis evoked the Second World War Nazi strategy of ‘divide and conquer’ and suggested that was the President’s plan too. ‘Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people – does not even pretend to try,’ he wrote in a 650-word article for the Atlantic
‘He doesn’t unite us, he divides us’
magazine. ‘Instead, he tries to divide us.’ He added: ‘We are witnessing the consequences of three years of this deliberate effort. We are witnessing the consequences of three years without mature leadership.’
Mr Trump inevitably hit back on Twitter and said the four-star Gulf War veteran he had once hailed was now ‘the world’s most overrated general’. He added: ‘I didn’t like his “leadership” style or much else about him, and many others agree, Glad he is gone!’
The US President also falsely claimed that both he and his predecessor, Barack Obama, had fired Mr Mattis.
In fact, the general had retired under Mr Obama only to be brought back by Mr Trump before he quit over strategic differences. Mr Mattis was backed by John Allen, a retired four-star general who commanded the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan before becoming Mr Obama’s envoy to the coalition against Isis.
In an article for Foreign Policy magazine he said the Trump presidency could be the ‘beginning of the end of American democracy’. Referring to the tear-gassing of peaceful protesters outside the White House to clear the way for Mr Trump to have his photo taken at St John’s Episcopal Church, he wrote: ‘The slide of the US into illiberalism may well have begun on
June 1, 2020,’ ... when Mr Trump took his walk to the church.
It came as White House staff ’s attempt to compare the US President to Winston Churchill was described as ‘verging on obscenity’ after the rubber bullet and tear gas attack on protesters.
Mr Trump’s press secretary Kayleigh McEnany likened the controversial photo call to Churchill’s walk around London during the Blitz.
She said: ‘Through all of time, we’ve seen presidents and leaders across the world who have had leadership moments and very powerful symbols that were important for our nation to see at any given time to show a message of resilience and determination. Like Churchill, we saw him inspecting the bombing damage and it sent a powerful message of leadership to the British people.’
Erik Larson, author of The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga Of Churchill, Family, And Defiance During The Blitz, said: ‘The comparison is worse than merely laughable. It verges on obscenity. Churchill wept when he visited bombed neighbourhoods. He offered compassion and hope, and helped people find their courage.’