Source: The Atlantic
by Quinta Jurecic
“In the summer of 2020, as demonstrators gathered in Washington, D.C., to protest against the murder of George Floyd, President Donald Trump directed the National Guard and officers from various federal law-enforcement agencies to patrol the streets of the nation’s capital. The results were a disaster from the perspective of crowd control but a delight to a wannabe authoritarian obsessed with good TV …. Now, five years later, Trump has once again decided to impose his idea of law and order upon Washington. This time, however, the city is quiet, and he’s not responding to any protests. He’s sending in the troops because he can …. This ostensible show of strength is more like an admission of weakness. It is the behavior of a bully: very bad for the people it touches, but not a likely prelude to full authoritarian takeover.” (08/11/25)