Facing justice
Former US secretary of defence Jim Mattis has taken a stand against the president as mass protests continue to rock the White House
Donald Trump is the first US president in decades who does not even pretend to try to unite the American people, his former secretary of defence said in a blistering attack on the commander in chief.
Jim Mattis, a respected former US Marine Corps general, has kept quiet about his time in the White House with Mr Trump since he walked out a year and a half ago.
But, as a growing number of high-profile political figures make their position known during a surge in nationwide anger over the killing of George Floyd in police custody, Mr Mattis broke his silence.
“Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people – does not even pretend to try. Instead, he tries to divide us,” Mr Mattis said.
“We are witnessing the consequences of three years of this deliberate effort. We are witnessing the consequences of three years without mature leadership.”
In the past four years, a consensus has grown among those who deal with Mr Trump that flattery, praise and a quiet word yields results, while public condemnation of the White House earns a quick rebuke from Mr Trump’s Twitter account.
Mr Trump used the platform to respond to Mr Mattis’s open letter.
“Probably the only thing Barack Obama and I have in common is that we both had the honour of firing Jim Mattis, the world’s most overrated general,” he tweeted.
The US is at an important junction. In November, Americans will vote in one of the most polarised elections in a generation – between Mr Trump and former vice president Joe Biden.
Today, the US is more divided than on the eve of the 2016 election that brought Mr Trump to power, Timothy Kneeland, professor and chairman of history and political science at Nazareth College in Rochester, told
Although the mass protests that have broken out over the killing of Floyd in Minneapolis last week were unexpected, the battle lines for November are being quickly laid down.
Mr Kneeland said that despite Mr Trump appearing under immense pressure – even spending a night in a bunker as fires burned outside a darkened White House – he was “happiest when there is chaos”.
Mr Trump is attempting to pull off a strategy “straight from Richard Nixon’s playbook” in his narrow victory in the 1968 US presidential election, Mr Kneeland said.
“He truly believes that his law and order message will resonate with white voters, who still outnumber people of colour in the US,” he said.
But the political effect of Mr Mattis’s statement, as well as those issued this week by former presidents Barack Obama and George W Bush, will still take a toll.
Peter Yacobucci, associate professor of political science at the State University of New York College at Buffalo, said Mr Mattis’s statement carried significant clout.
“For him to make such a clear denouncement of the president will have an impact on current and former military who by and large have stood with the president,” Mr Yacobucci said.
He said Mr Trump’s decision to bring in the military and the national guard to police the streets was “diametrically opposed to what the large majority of our all-volunteer service members signed up for” and could undermine one of his most loyal support bases.
Mr Kneeland said the effect of the statement would be felt in the US Senate and Congress.
“Senate leaders, already anxious about losing the Senate to the Democrats, are more concerned about the impact of his statement in states where Democrats are leading in statewide polls,” he said.
Mr Biden has about a 10-point lead in some polls and the national mood also plays into the local, state, congressional and Senate races this year.
But polls and uneasy members of Congress are unlikely to alter Mr Trump’s course.
“His actions suggest his natural instincts are to double down on his most aggressive combative nature. Recent polling, especially those done since the George Floyd murder surfaced, suggest this is driving many away from the president,” Mr Yacobucci said.
But as Mr Kneeland said, since 2016, Mr Trump has transformed the Republican Party. Gone are many of those people who saw Mr Trump as the antithesis of their conservative values and in their place are firebrand ideologues ready to back his every word.
While even the current US Secretary of Defence Mark Esper risked his job to say he didn’t agree with Mr Trump that the current crisis was a sufficient threat to call up the military, Tom Cotton, a Senator from Arkansas, called for just that in The New York Times.
“One thing above all else will restore order to our streets: an overwhelming show of force to disperse, detain and ultimately deter lawbreakers,” he said.
But there is a sign that some more centrist Republicans are mobilising against Mr Trump.
On Monday, a super PAC named 43 Alumni For Biden was established by a group of former officials in Mr Bush’s administration to gather donations for Mr Biden’s campaign.
Neither Mr Kneeland nor Mr Yacobucci see November’s elections as a salve to the nation’s divisions. “It will take a remarkable leader that simply may not be currently present,” Mr Yacobucci said.
Mr Kneeland said it would be a long process. “The only thing that may change any of this is for the younger generation to embrace a new politics and wait for the older generation of voters to age out of the political process.”
The mass protests were unexpected, but the battle lines for November’s election are being quickly laid down
The option to use active duty forces … should only be used as a matter of last resort. We are not in one of those situations now. MARK ESPER US Secretary of Defence
Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people – does not even pretend to try. JIM MATTIS Former Secretary of Defence
George Floyd is not here. He should be here, he should be alive, but he’s not. KEITH ELLISON Attorney General for Minnesota
The only way to see ourselves in a true light is to listen to the voices of so many who are hurting and grieving. GEORGE W BUSH 43rd US president
It’s very important for us to take the momentum, as a country, and say let’s finally have an impact. BARACK OBAMA 44th US president
One thing above all else will restore order to our streets: an overwhelming show of force. TOM COTTON Republican senator from Arkansas