NEW: In backchannel talks, Trump administration signals to Oregon governor that it could begin to draw down federal police presence in Portland - but only if state drastically steps up its own law enforcement to quell protests https://t.co/BYdfnXs2xO— Jonathan Lemire (@JonLemire) July 29, 2020
All those stories about Trump imposing fascism on American cities and sending in the Feds to a city near you?
I was concerned, too. But this is Trump. It's not gonna happen.
Trump didn't get his sugar high from Portland, and he's already bored. It didn't trigger a wave of support, it didn't turn the tide, it didn't win him the hearts and minds of millions: so he's through with it. Sure, Trump could be a "strong man," sure, it could still happen here; sure, we could easily be Weimar Germany: but we're not. And he ain't. And it's not happening.
Barr complained about this at his hearing yesterday:
Barr replied that U.S. Marshals and other federal agents have a duty to guard the Portland courthouse from people tossing fireworks and trying to vandalize and break into the building. He said they are under siege in that building and need help dealing with a nightly barrage of fireworks, fires, and attacks. Multiple law enforcement personnel have sustained serious injuries, Barr said.
“We are on the defense, we are not looking for trouble, and if the state and the city would provide the law enforcement services that other jurisdictions do, we would have no need to have additional marshals in the courthouse,” the attorney general said.
Turns out he's floating the trial balloon for withdrawal, not release the stalking horse for taking over every major city in America. Portland is not paying dividends. It's not turning into a flash point and a rallying cry for white supremacist militias across the country. It seems Trump is going to have to continue to rely on boat rallies in Florida to boost his ego.
Count on it: those "troops" going to Chicago and elsewhere? Never gonna arrive. Trump is looking for a way out of this. Not because he won, or realizes he poured kerosene on the embers in Oregon; but because he's tired of playing with that toy. Because Christmas didn't come in July, because Portland didn't bring him the protests in other cities he expected.
Good thing we only have to endure this for a few more months. I'm not sure we can take much more gross incompetence.
Trump might be too bored to impose fascism. I'm sure Barr and his ilk would love to have a Republican president who wouldn't get distracted by TV to do it. I doubt Tom Cotton is smart enough to do it but I'm sure there are Republicans who could do it. And that's not counting the damage less than that they're perfectly willing to actively do.
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