Strongman Admirer Trump Sees US Protests In Warlike Terms

Washington, June 4 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 4th Jun, 2020 ) :From the White House, President Donald Trump delivered blunt -- some say alarming -- instructions to local leaders confronting nationwide street protests against police brutality: "dominate." "If you don't dominate, you're wasting your time," he told state governors.

And if they tried, but failed? "Then I will deploy the US military and quickly solve the problem for them." Trump has always had a thing about physical force -- and admiration for world leaders who aren't afraid to use it.

Much of the time, this is a question of style.

Ever since his real estate building days, Trump has crafted an image of the brash, bullying businessman who'll do anything to win.

He loves watching pro-wrestling and mixed martial arts fights. As president, he fills his speeches with words like "tough" and "powerful." At rallies, one of the warm-up songs -- whether or not his right-wing supporters know it was originally a gay anthem -- is "Macho Man" by the Village People.

But throughout his first term, Trump has broken US diplomatic norms by expressing admiration for dictators and strongmen, ranging from North Korea's Kim Jong Un to Russia's Vladimir Putin and Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

And with only five months until a tense election day, critics fear that Trump is using a national crisis to flirt with his own brand of authoritarianism.

- Power walk? - After having declared himself a wartime president in tackling the coronavirus pandemic, Trump is now diving deep into an actual military posture on the streets of America.

On Monday he warned governors that weakness in the face of protests marred by looting and arson would make them "look like a bunch of jerks." Then he threatened to invoke the rarely used Insurrection Act, which would mean deploying the armed forces on US soil, even against local leaders' will.

Rather than focus on what protesters say is the root of the unrest -- decades of racism and brutality against African Americans -- he homed in on the rioting by a minority, calling this "domestic terror." His defense Secretary, Mark Esper, echoed that muscular approach, telling governors to "dominate the battlespace." The Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, General Mark Milley, appeared at the White House in camouflage uniform. Military helicopters hovered low over Washington protesters. A dizzying array of different security force units deployed in the city.

Finally, in a gesture of raw strength, police beat mostly peaceful protesters out of Lafayette Square, next to the White House, so that Trump could safely walk across to a damaged church and brandish a Bible in front of the news cameras.

It was cast as just a stroll, but for Trump this was really a moment to swagger.