“I don’t think there’s a speech the president can give at this stage that’s going to calm things down,” said Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah, the only GOP senator to support Trump’s removal during his impeachment trial. “The call today with the governors, as it was reported, doesn’t calm things down.”
Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina also spoke with Trump over the weekend and suggested he have conversations with black leaders and law enforcement officials away from the cameras.
With more than a dozen major cities embroiled in violent clashes between police and protesters as well as riots and looting, Trump spent Monday dressing down governors as „weak“ and ordering them to “dominate” demonstrators.
On Twitter, Trump bragged about his poll numbers and attacked former Vice President Joe Biden as “sleepy” and his staff as “radical” for donating money to help bail out protesters. He also endorsed an idea from Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) to deploy the military to quell protests.
There are only the faintest signs that the GOP’s impatience with his combative approach is sinking in. On short notice, Trump made remarks at the White House on Monday evening and said Americans are „rightly sickened“ by Floyd’s death and assured the nation that Floyd will not have died „in vain.“
Casting himself as the „law and order“ president, Trump said he would use the federal government to fight back against what he deemed „domestic terrorism.” Police forces dispersed a crowd of peaceful protesters outside the White House with tear gas minutes before Washington’s 7 p.m. curfew. Trump said he would dispatch thousands of “heavily-armed” soldiers to enforce the curfew.
The United States now faces rising unemployment, ever-increasing numbers of coronavirus deaths and now protests in most major cities over harsh police treatment of African Americans across the United States, and some GOP senators are eager for Trump to step up.
“The president should help to heal the racial divisions in this country. It is at times like this that a president needs to speak to the nation, to pledge to right wrongs, and to calm inflamed passions,” said Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), who urged Trump to address the nation and tell Americans to peacefully work to end “racial injustice.”
Trump demands loyalty from Republicans and has dressed down those who have criticized his tone too sharply. So many are sticking with him or staying away from the topic altogether.
Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) agreed it would be a good idea for Trump to give a national address. But he declined „to comment about the tone of his tweets.”
Source: politico.com
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