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Donald Trump still views his widely panned walk to St. John's Church on June 1 via a path cleared of peaceful protesters by tear gas and rubber bullets as a PR tour de force.
He tweeted on June 11:
"Our great National Guard Troops who took care of the area around the White House could hardly believe how easy it was. 'A walk in the park,' one said. The protesters, agitators, anarchists (ANTIFA), and others, were handled VERY easily by the Guard, D.C. Police, & S.S. GREAT JOB!"
The president might want to rethink his use of S.S., which is not how the Secret Service refers to itself. The Schutzstaffel (SS) was the paramilitary organization that Adolf Hitler used in Nazi Germany and Europe during World War II. We are certainly not at the point where the Secret Service is Trump's paramilitary force.
The same day that Trump was basking in the memory of the Battle of Lafayette Square, the New York Times reported that the National Guard is investigating its crackdown on the DC demonstrators.
Jittery senior Army leadership urged the Guard to take aggressive action against the protestors because they feared Trump would order troops from the 82nd Airborne, which was positioned just outside of DC.
Trump's beautiful bible photo-op also took a hit from General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who apologized for being part of Trump's publicity stunt.
He told graduates at the National Defense University:
"I should not have been there. My presence in that moment in that environment created a perception of the military involved in domestic politics. As a commissioned uniformed officer, it was a mistake that I have learned from and I sincerely hope we all can learn from it."
The General also expressed "outrage by the senseless and brutal killing of George Floyd. His death amplified the pain, the frustration, and the fear that so many of our fellow Americans live day in and day out."
As America digested the words from its top military officer, the president was off to Dallas for a $10M fundraiser and a talk about policing and race in America.
The Dallas Morning News reported that the police chief of Glenn Heights, a town of 11,000 south of Dallas, was to participate in the discussion.
The top three law enforcement officers in the county, though, were not invited. Dallas Police Chief U. Reneé Hall, Dallas County Sheriff Marian Brown and District Attorney John Creuzot were not invited.
They are Black.
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