NPR's The World: "Mattis Denounces Trump"

Former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis broke his silence Wednesday, denouncing 

Follow-Up To Jim Mattis' Reference To Trump As An Ignorant Dolt Who Doesn't Read

http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2019/12/cartoon-follow-up-to-jim-mattis.html

NPR's The World: "Mattis Denounces Trump"

President Donald Trump’s call for a military response to the civil unrest gripping the US after the killing of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died as a white police officer pressed a knee into his neck last week.

Mattis, an influential retired Marine general who resigned over Trump’s policy on Syria in 2018, accused the president of trying to divide the country. "Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people — does not even pretend to try," Mattis wrote in The Atlantic. Only hours before Mattis’ comments were published, the current defense secretary, Mark T. Esper, also distanced himself from Trump, suggesting the use of the military to contain the protests was unnecessary at this time.

In a day with several high profile figures speaking out, former President Barack Obama on Wednesday urged mayors across the country to review their police department's use-of-force policies, but also struck a note of optimism. "In some ways, as tragic as these last few weeks have been, as difficult and scary and uncertain as they've been, they've also been an incredible opportunity for people to be awakened to some of these underlying trends," Obama said via livestream from his home in Washington, DC.