World is watching the ‘end of an empire’

US Studies Centre Non-Resident Fellow James Brown says it feels like “watching the end of an empire” as President Donald Trump fights a battle on twin fronts: COVID-19 and internal anarchy over the fatal arrest of unarmed black man George Floyd. “We’ve seen 100,000 deaths in America, we’ve seen political disunity, we’ve seen chaotic press conferences and comments from the commander and chief, and now we’re seeing violence, looting and fires in 75 major cities across the US,” Mr Brown said. His remarks came directly after Mr Trump declared himself the “president of law and order” during an address at the White House where he threatened to deploy the US military to “quickly solve the problem” of violent protests if a city or state failed to take necessary defensive actions. “Today, I have strongly recommended to every governor to deploy the National Guard in sufficient numbers that we dominate the streets. Mayors and governors must establish an overwhelming presence until the violence is quelled,” Mr Trump said. “If a city or state refuses to take the actions necessary to defend the life and property of their residents, then I will deploy the United States military and quickly solve the problem for them.” Protests have entered their seventh consecutive day, with dozens of cities enforcing curfews in an attempt to end the upheaval. Mr Brown said normally a leader would call for calm rather than threaten to escalate violence. “We will know very quickly whether the president’s strategy works. He is coming in hard, he is militarising the response,” he said. Image: AP

from World | Daily Telegraph https://ift.tt/302lEdB