[above: Military police block peaceful civil rights protesters from approaching the Lincoln Memorial on the day that Donald “don’t be too nice” Trump declares that his administration “has done more for the black community than any president since Abraham Lincoln.”]
There are a lot of different ways that I could take things this evening, but let’s start with the following editorial, which was published this evening by The Atlantic. Its author, our nation’s 17th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, retired United States Navy Admiral Mike Mullen, I think, does a pretty good job of detailing where we find ourselves today. [Mullen was appointed to serve as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff by President George W. Bush.]
It sickened me yesterday to see security personnel—including members of the National Guard—forcibly and violently clear a path through Lafayette Square to accommodate the president’s visit outside St. John’s Church. I have to date been reticent to speak out on issues surrounding President Trump’s leadership, but we are at an inflection point, and the events of the past few weeks have made it impossible to remain silent.
Whatever Trump’s goal in conducting his visit, he laid bare his disdain for the rights of peaceful protest in this country, gave succor to the leaders of other countries who take comfort in our domestic strife, and risked further politicizing the men and women of our armed forces.
There was little good in the stunt.
While no one should ever condone the violence, vandalism, and looting that has exploded across our city streets, neither should anyone lose sight of the larger and deeper concerns about institutional racism that have ignited this rage.
As a white man, I cannot claim perfect understanding of the fear and anger that African Americans feel today. But as someone who has been around for a while, I know enough—and I’ve seen enough—to understand that those feelings are real and that they are all too painfully founded.
We must, as citizens, address head-on the issue of police brutality and sustained injustices against the African American community. We must, as citizens, support and defend the right—indeed, the solemn obligation—to peacefully assemble and to be heard. These are not mutually exclusive pursuits.
And neither of these pursuits will be made easier or safer by an overly aggressive use of our military, active duty or National Guard. The United States has a long and, to be fair, sometimes troubled history of using the armed forces to enforce domestic laws. The issue for us today is not whether this authority exists, but whether it will be wisely administered.
I remain confident in the professionalism of our men and women in uniform. They will serve with skill and with compassion. They will obey lawful orders. But I am less confident in the soundness of the orders they will be given by this commander in chief, and I am not convinced that the conditions on our streets, as bad as they are, have risen to the level that justifies a heavy reliance on military troops. Certainly, we have not crossed the threshold that would make it appropriate to invoke the provisions of the Insurrection Act.
Furthermore, I am deeply worried that as they execute their orders, the members of our military will be co-opted for political purposes.
Even in the midst of the carnage we are witnessing, we must endeavor to see American cities and towns as our homes and our neighborhoods. They are not “battle spaces” to be dominated, and must never become so.
We must ensure that African Americans—indeed, all Americans—are given the same rights under the Constitution, the same justice under the law, and the same consideration we give to members of our own family. Our fellow citizens are not the enemy, and must never become so.
Too many foreign and domestic policy choices have become militarized; too many military missions have become politicized.
This is not the time for stunts. This is the time for leadership.
I was hopeful that, when I awoke this morning, I’d see other Republicans, and Republican appointees, coming off the sidelines to express their anger and concern over what Donald Trump had done, when he had the National Guard clear a path for him by firing rubber bullets and tear gas into a crowd of peaceful protesters, so that he could stand on the steps of a church that he hadn’t been invited to, to film a campaign ad holding a Bible. Sadly, very few Republicans on Capitol Hill have had the courage to speak up, though. Senator Lisa Murkowski said, “It’s not the America I know,” And Ben Sasse made a tepid statement, but, otherwise, the silence was deafening. Here, if you’re interested, are a few notable examples of Republican leaders refusing to comment on the President’s dangerous, authoritarian stunt. [Black Republican House member Will Hurd marched in a Texas protest, but I don’t think he spoke up about what Trump had done.]
Kasie Hunt asks Republican senators what they thought of the President having peaceful protestors gassed and dispersed for a photo op pic.twitter.com/MGy60CFvLV
— Acyn Torabi (@Acyn) June 2, 2020
No, for the most part, people on the right just made excuses for Donald Trump, or tried to distance themselves from what he’d done. Defense Secretary Mark Esper, who was with Trump for the photo-op at St. John’s Church, for instance, laughably claimed that he “didn’t know” where he was going, as they walked through Lafayette Square to have their photos taken. And the folks on Fox News made the case that Trump had no choice but to have peaceful protesters cleared away, as they surely would have turned violent, if given the opportunity.
This is some Minority Report shit right here. #FutureCrime https://t.co/DOXBZ6umTY
— Mark Maynard (@MarkAMaynard) June 3, 2020
When I finally went to sleep last night, I though that maybe we’d reached a kind of inflection point, where those, like Mike Mullen, who had been silent for so long, might come out en masse, and make it known that they’d finally had enough. But, so far, with a few exceptions, it’s just been more of the same.
Speaking of Republicans not taking the opportunity to do the right thing, the Democrats tried to pass a resolution today condemning Trump’s unconstitutional attack against peaceful protesters yesterday, but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell blocked the resolution. Here, if you’re wondering what it said, is the gist of it.
This isn’t over. Things may continue to build. If you haven’t contacted your elected officials in a while, I’d suggest that now might be a good time to find their numbers and give them a call.
Oh… Donald Trump just tweeted that the peaceful protesters that were fired upon weren’t really peaceful, and that everyone loved his photo-op at the church. “You got it wrong!,” he tweeted. “If the protesters were so peaceful, why did they light the Church on fire the night before? People liked my walk to this historic place of worship!”