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MORE MEMBERS OF the Republican party have voiced dissent against Donald Trump, with further concerns at the US President’s inability to unify the country at a time of grave unrest.
Some Republicans are beginning to voice their unease with Trump’s handling of the crisis having been emboldened by General James Mattis’ plea for a leader who lives up to American ideals of a more perfect union.
Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski yesterday called the rebuke by Trump’s first Pentagon chief “necessary and overdue”.
“Perhaps we’re getting to the point where we can be more honest with the concerns that we might hold internally, and have the courage of our own convictions to speak up,” Murkowski said.
Murkowski’s remarks reflected the choice Republicans are forced to make about whether, and for how long, to support Trump when his words and actions so often conflict with their values and goals.
Trump has responded to violence accompanying some protests following George Floyd’s killing in Minneapolis by calling for more “law and order” to “dominate” even peaceful demonstrations.
He has been slower and less forceful in addressing racial injustice and questions of police brutality that lie at the heart of the unrest.
Asked whether she could still support Trump, Murkowski replied: “I am struggling with it. I have struggled with it for a long time.”
The US is on edge, and the November election looms with the presidency and control of the House and Senate at stake. Trump has made clear that consequences for what he considers disloyalty can be steep.
In fact, he promised yesterday to campaign against Murkowski when she seeks reelection in 2022.
“Get any candidate ready, good or bad, I don’t care, I’m endorsing,” Trump tweeted.
Most in the Republican party are not breaking with him. Senator Mike Braun of Indiana said Mattis’s missive was not discussed yesterday at a Republican lunch.
Asked for this thoughts on Mattis and Murkowski, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell offered no response.
Democratic senators, meanwhile, gathered at the Capitol’s Emancipation Hall to bow — some kneeling — in an 8-minute, 46-second moment of silence for Floyd, representing the time he was held to the ground by police before he died.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi sent Trump a letter seeking an accounting of the “increased militarisation” towards protesters “that may increase chaos”.
For Republicans, the challenge peaked this week when federal forces abruptly cleared peaceful protesters from Lafayette Park near the White House so Trump could stage a photo op in front of St. John’s, the “church of presidents”, holding up a Bible.
Earlier in the week, for example, Republican Senator Rob Portman of Ohio was one of a procession of Republicans who muttered or dodged when asked if Trump’s use of the military to suppress protesters was the right thing to do.
But after Mattis’s rebuke, Portman was more willing to discuss Trump’s handling of the protests.
He pointed out that Trump, in prepared remarks, did condemn Floyd’s killing and applauded peaceful demonstrations. But “his tone and words kind of in between those more formal presentations have not unified people,” Portman said.
George Floyd memorial
Yesterday, celebrities and political leaders gathered in front of George Floyd’s golden casket for a fiery memorial service after his death in police custody sparked protests worldwide.
The service – the first in a series of memorials in three cities over six days – took place in Minneapolis as a judge in the city set bail at $750,000 (€661,000) for the three fired police officers charged with aiding and abetting murder in Floyd’s death.
Floyd died on 25 May after a white police officer, Derek Chauvin, put his knee on the 46-year-old’s neck for several minutes as he lay handcuffed on the pavement.
Chauvin has been charged with murder, and he and the others could get up to 40 years in prison.
Reverend Al Sharpton delivered a eulogy at the North Central University in which he said: “George Floyd’s story has been the story of black folks.
“Because ever since 401 years ago, the reason we could never be who we wanted and dreamed to be is you kept your knee on our neck.
“It’s time for us to stand up in George’s name and say, ‘Get your knee off our necks!’”
Across the world, the video of Floyd’s slow death has set off turbulent and sometimes violent demonstrations against police brutality, racism and inequality.
Those gathered at the Minneapolis tribute stood in silence for 8 minutes, 46 seconds, the amount of time Floyd was alleged to be on the ground under the control of police.
Reverend Sharpton vowed that this will become a movement to “change the whole system of justice”.
The service was also attended by the Reverend Jesse Jackson, Senator Amy Klobuchar, TI, Ludacris, Tyrese Gibson, Kevin Hart, Tiffany Haddish and Marsai Martin.
Floyd’s brother Philonise Floyd told the crowd about their childhood playing catch and eating banana and mayonnaise sandwiches.
He said: “All these people came to see my brother.
“That’s amazing to me that he touched so many people’s hearts because he touched our hearts.”
The casket was covered in red roses, and a vibrant image was projected above the pulpit of a mural of Floyd painted at the street corner where he was arrested by police on suspicion of attempting to pay with a counterfeit note.
The message on the mural reads: “I can breathe now”.
In the US, where protests had been marked by bouts of lawlessness since last week, relative quiet prevailed for a third straight night last night, a day after prosecutors charged the three other officers at the scene and filed a new, more serious count of murder against Chauvin.
In New York City, a large crowd gathered at Brooklyn’s Cadman Plaza and chanted “You are not alone” in a rally with another of George Floyd’s brothers.
“I thank God for you all showing love to my brother,” said an emotional Terrence Floyd.
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Like or dislike Trump, he’s right about China not playing fair on the world market. And the trade imbalance would seem to favour the US. The EU should join the US but won’t. One reason may be the messenger.
@Toomasu Sumitsu: first of, nobody wins in a trade war. Previous US presidents have learned that.
Second of, the USA is hardly one to claim what China does is unfair. They’ve been using extremely unfair tactics including illegal invasions etc to get what they’ve wanted since the country was founded.
@Toomasu Sumitsu: the one good thing trump did for citizens of the EU was torpedo TTIP and after seeing the mooted thoughts of the horrific trade deal the UK will get with the US post brexit theres no reqson we should join the US, even under a democratic president as TTIP was developed under Obamas watch
@Toomasu Sumitsu: If the US don’t have a reason then they will invent one.
@Toomasu Sumitsu: Completely agree. The US have a strong hand to play and China has too much of a stranglehold on the world economy for too long.
@Barry Somers: “nobody wins in a trade war”. It’s not about winning the trade war but using the leverage the US has, the massive trade deficit, to get the Chinese to the table and engage seriously. The trade imbalance means it’ll hurt China more than it’ll hurt the US.
@Toomasu Sumitsu: You might want to educate yourself with a little global history, and read about China’s 100 Years of Shame, the Opium Wars, the Nanking Masssacre, etc. I’d start a book called The Silk Roads by Peter Frakopan. The West has been plundering other nations for hundreds of years, keeping them from developing and evolving.
@Toomasu Sumitsu: the Chinese and Germans largely provided the capital that fuelled the American economic growth. If the Chinese decide to recall all the gold that they are owed by the USA(far more than exists on the planet), the American (and probably the worlds) economy would tank.
Trump is playing with fire here.
@Toomasu Sumitsu: If the US don’t have a reason then they’ll invent one. They have a good proven record in that.
@Toomasu Sumitsu: Leverage? Over (unelected) President for Life Xi? You’re having a laugh lad. Firstly the Chinese hold over $1 Trillion in US Treasury Bonds. If they are willing to take a hit there they can force the Fed to increase interest rates again, which Trump hates.
Secondly the Balance of Trade swings both ways in this scenario. While China has more goods to which tariffs can be applied that simply means that American business and people have to pay tariffs on more stuff than Chinese people do.
Thirdly they can stop buying US Agri Imports since the only reason they ever bothered with them in the first place was as part previous deals to artificially reduce the trade imbalance. There is no need whatsoever for them to import American Soybeans half way across the world, for example. So they can stop entirely, which will bankrupt certain farmers, who tend to be Trump loyalists.
The examples go on and on. Xi can hurt Trump badly in a political sense by targeting their actions against his base, Trump has no way to answer that. All he can do is charge his own people more for buying Chinese stuff. It’s a dumb strategy, devoid of any nuance or ability to apply any actual strategic pressure.
@Fin: “The west has been plundering other nations for hundreds of years”. And how is this relevant? I’m aware China has a chip on their shoulder due to the 100 Years of Shame but they’re still rational actors who will act in their best interest. And the Rape of Nanjing was carried out by the Japanese. A few trade concessions is hardly equivalent to any of this.
@John: Some fair points. The vulnerability of a democracy compared to essentially a dictatorship is worrying. Russia know this too. Instead of making broad actions against a country they can make targeted ones that target a leader’s base and harm them politically. It would be ironic if Trump lost the next election due to the Chinese. However, the fact the Chinese are buying something they don’t need as part of a previous deal shows they’re willing to look at the bigger picture. I’m not entirely sure how holding US bonds gives the Chinese leverage, can you explain that further? Americans do need to pay more for Chinese goods, which does have a feedback into their economy. But of course this is in the context of US manufacturing being decimated by outsourcing. The status quo can’t continue.
@Toomasu Sumitsu: widespread use of Indonesia as a middle man for importation of Chinese steel to USA. Tarrifs like this simply don’t work, as history attests too. Its simply more ill thoughtout populace rhetoric- id take the “bureaucrats” in Brussels managing our trade any day
@Toomasu Sumitsu: I think what he meant was for you to have some basic understanding of how Chinese people think and what they have been through that made them think such way. From so you might understand better why China retaliate when there are huge tariffs dropped on their heads
@Fin: True but many Chinese companies especially in the tech space do not play fair and were largely started off the back of stolen intellectual property from mainly US companies, for example stolen code. These companies are protected and in many cases directly supported by the Chinese government making it very unfair and difficult for companies in other international markets to compete. The Chinese do need to be taken down a peg or two in this regard.
Trump seems to think China are paying the tariffs, not the end user ie Americans.
@James Wallace: he thinks a lot of things, all of it BS.
America’s Farmers are feeling the pressure . These tarrifs are crippling them.
@Daithi Ó Raghallaigh: it is the American citizen that pays the tariff…the Chinese company will sell less but the American purchaser pays more…but the public don’t seem to get it
Trump must believe he is king of the world. He is indeed a wrecking ball.
All The Chinese have to do is sell off the trillion in US bonds they own and the US economy will crash.
@An bhearna: and also crash their own manufacturing base at the same time. Why would they do this?
Just shows the extent of Trump’s lies and how they brainwash people. “Yo Trump! Go get them?”. Yes, it brings a lot more money into USA treasury to compensate for his fat cat friends tax cuts, but the USA people pay the extra as a hidden tax to buy the goods.
It’s a covert VAT … we already have this in Europe.
@WoodlandBard: sadly, the average American Trump voter has no understanding of international trade and tariffs. They believe that somehow China is paying money into the US treasury, as Trump claims, but of course that’s just another lie, though they might have a change of heart when the stuff they buy at Walmart shoots up in price.
Trump doesn’t know much but he does know his base voter – he understands that they are too lazy or willfully ignorant or stupid to actually challenge his constant lies.
its like two haven’t had puberty hit school boys having a wizzing contest between them Trump and Xi, except its the citizens of both countries that are the wall they are wizzing against and stinking the place up
The # in the picture says it all #Tit for Tat
Does he not know how much American debt,
China holds,
Tiny dick swinging competition between Trump and Xi
Like in fairness is he tbat delusional if China wanted to close America dowm it could they owe China 23 trillion.. Americans in fairness r dumb.
@Mahuna: You call Americans dumb, but precede that statement by saying that the totality of all US debt is owed to China and China only. Interesting viewpoint. Maybe you should check your sources.
@Shane Dignam: nowhere in his comment does he say the totality of us debt is owed only to china, he just said they owe chine 23trillion, or is there more text in his comment that is only visible to you?
My guess is that Trump is on a loser taking on China in a trade war, on the basis that the Chinese state can control the moves on the chessboard absolutely, whereas the US is responsive to capital interests & forces within.
Once the pain strikes home, the business interests will scream, & Trumpy will do a deal to get off the hook, claiming that he has tamed the dragon.
So only america can invade countries only america can send their troops to a country “incase of an attack” only america can retaliate against attacks and now only america can add tarrifs on exports, they think they are the world power but actually they are just bullies that attack when they dont get their way
have your say