FRIDAY we wrote that PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP’S challenge “is as it always is: compassion, control and message discipline.” But instead of taking the opportunity at the White House on Friday afternoon to try to quell the growing unrest in cities across the country and try to bring Americans together following the police killing of George Floyd, Trump stuck to his anger at China and decision to leave the World Health Organization in the middle of a pandemic.
THE PRESIDENT later in the day said he understood the hurt and pain coming out of Floyd’s death, but that “law and order will prevail.” “We have peaceful protesters and support the rights for peaceful protesters — we can’t allow a situation like happened in Minneapolis to descend further into lawlessness, anarchy and chaos,” Trump told reporters.
JOE BIDEN and former President BARACK OBAMA also weighed in Friday. “We’re a country with an open wound. None of us can turn away. None of us can be silent,” Biden said from his home in Delaware. “This is no time for incendiary tweets. It’s no time to encourage violence. This is a national crisis, and we need real leadership right now.”
OBAMA struck a similar tone in a statement: “This shouldn’t be ‘normal’ in 2020 America. It can’t be ‘normal.’ If we want our children to grow up in a nation that lives up to its highest ideals, we can and must be better.”
YET OVERNIGHT, things only got worse. Violent protests broke out in cities across the country in places like Atlanta, Portland and Chicago. Local leaders were left to try to implement curfews and plead with protesters to stop the destruction. The White House was even partially under lockdown Friday night.
IT’S UNCLEAR what will ultimately diffuse the growing unrest, or if this is a rare moment in a partisan Washington when Republicans and Democrats could come together to try to heal racial inequalities that have plagued this country for hundreds of years. RIGHT NOW, it doesn’t seem like anyone has the answers.
WHAT’S ON TRUMP’S MIND THIS A.M. via MATT CHOI and CRAIG HOWIE: “President Donald Trump on Saturday morning warned protesters who forced the White House into partial lockdown would face ‘vicious dogs’ and ‘ominous weapons’ if they breached the building’s perimeter, praised the actions of the Secret Service and appeared to call his supporters to defy authorities by staging a counter protest.
“‘Great job last night at the White House by the U.S. @SecretService. They were not only totally professional, but very cool. I was inside, watched every move, and couldn’t have felt more safe. They let the ‘protesters’ scream & rant as much as they wanted, but whenever someone…. …got too frisky or out of line, they would quickly come down on them, hard – didn’t know what hit them,” Trump tweeted.
“‘Big crowd, professionally organized, but nobody came close to breaching the fence. If they had they would…. ….have been greeted with the most vicious dogs, and most ominous weapons, I have ever seen. That’s when people would have been really badly hurt, at least. Many Secret Service agents just waiting for action,” he added.
“The president also appeared to call for a counter protest, tweeting: “Tonight, I understand, is MAGA NIGHT AT THE WHITE HOUSE???’” POLITICO
— PRETTY SURE calling for more protests isn’t what is going to blunt the unrest.
Good Saturday morning. The SpaceX-NASA shuttle launch is scheduled for 3:22 p.m. EST this afternoon. All the details
THE LATEST IN MINNEAPOLIS — “’You need to go home,’ Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz says as new fires, looting hit Minneapolis,” by Star Tribune’s Ryan Faircloth: “Heaping furious, violent contempt on an 8 p.m. curfew declaration and widespread passionate pleas for forbearance and peace, defiant rioters rampaged across Minneapolis for a fourth night Friday and into early Saturday, creating unprecedented havoc as they set towering fires, looted and vandalized businesses and shot at police officers, all in response to the death of an unarmed black man under a white police officer’s knee on Monday.
“By all accounts, law enforcement presence was almost undetectable as the violence rapidly accelerated until just before midnight and into early Saturday, when hundreds of police officers, state troopers and National Guard troops, some in armored vehicles, fanned out into troubled areas, confronting rioters with mass force, tear gas and orders to disperse issued via bullhorn.
“And yet, those efforts had visibly little impact for much of the night, and questions swirled among citizens and politicians about how such a dire situation could have developed in a long peaceable, progressive city.” Star Tribune
— “Thousands ignore Minneapolis curfew as U.S. protests spread,” by AP’s Aaron Morrison and Tim Sullivan in Minneapolis: “The Pentagon on Saturday ordered the Army to put military police units on alert to head to the city on short notice at President Donald Trump’s request, according to three people with direct knowledge of the orders who did not want their names used because they were not authorized to discuss the preparations. The rare step came as the violence spread to other cities: a man shot dead in Detroit, police cars battered in Atlanta and skirmishes with police in New York City.”
AROUND THE COUNTRY … “Riot erupts in downtown Portland, after peaceful protest of George Floyd killing,” by Oregonian’s Molly Harbarger … “Atlanta mayor urges violent protesters: ‘Go home’” by Atlanta Journal Constitution’s Raisa Habersham … “Loop windows smashed overnight during Chicago’s protests over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis,” by Chicago Tribune’s Jeremy Gorner
MORE SKIRMISHES WITH MEDIA — “Fox News crew harassed, chased by angry mob while reporting on protests outside White House,” by Fox News’ Greg Wilson … “LMPD officer fires pepper balls at WAVE 3 News reporter during Louisville protest,” by Wave 3 News’ Shellie Sylvestri in Louisville, Ky.
FROM 30,000 FEET — “Gripped by disease, unemployment and outrage at the police, America plunges into crisis,” by WaPo’s Matt Zapotosky and Isaac Stanley-Becker: “A global pandemic has now killed more than 100,000 Americans and left 40 million unemployed in its wake. Protests — some of them violent — have once again erupted in spots across the country over police killings of black Americans.
“President Trump, meanwhile, is waging a war against Twitter, attacking his political rivals, criticizing a voting practice he himself uses and suggesting that looters could be shot. America’s persistent political dysfunction and racial inequality were laid bare this week, as the coronavirus death toll hit a tragic new milestone and as the country was served yet another reminder of how black people are killed by law enforcement in disproportionately high numbers.
“Together, the events present a grim tableau of a nation in crisis — one seared by violence against its citizens, plagued by a deadly disease that remains uncontained and rattled by a devastating blow to its economy.” WaPo
DOJ WATCH — “A Justice Dept. Skeptical of Police Abuse Cases Vows to Investigate Floyd Death,” by NYT’s Katie Benner and Emily Badger: “Attorney General William P. Barr on Friday labeled the images of the death of George Floyd, a black man in Minneapolis whom a white police officer knelt on for nearly nine minutes, as ‘harrowing’ and ‘deeply disturbing’ and vowed that the federal investigation into his death would proceed quickly. …
“But the Trump administration’s years of inaction on police violence and President Trump’s embrace of law enforcement have made civil rights advocates wary of the Justice Department’s involvement in the Floyd case. The administration has largely dismantled police oversight efforts, curbing the use of federal consent decrees to overhaul local police departments. Mr. Barr has said that communities that criticize law enforcement may not deserve police protection, and Mr. Trump has encouraged officers not to be ‘too nice’ in handling suspects.” NYT
JOSH GERSTEIN: “Roberts joins court’s liberals to deny California church’s lockdown challenge”: “A sharply divided Supreme Court has turned aside a church’s urgent plea that California’s coronavirus lockdown orders are putting an unconstitutional burden on religious freedom.
“Chief Justice John Roberts sided with the court’s liberals in rejecting a San Diego church’s request for relief from Gov. Gavin Newsom’s most recent directive limiting churches to 25% of their normal maximum capacity, with an absolute maximum of 100 people at any service.
“In a three-page opinion issued just before the stroke of midnight Washington time, Roberts said it would be unwise for the court to intervene on an emergency basis as state officials try to grapple with the ebb and flow of a pandemic caused by a highly infectious and sometimes deadly virus.” POLITICO … The opinion
BACK ON THE TRAIL? — “Inside an Extraordinary G.O.P. Event: ‘Pressing Flesh and Kissing Babies’ Again,” by NYT’s Astead Herndon in Conway, S.C.: “The first mention of the coronavirus pandemic was a joke. A master of ceremonies was explaining to a crowd of more than 100 people why the keynote speakers — home-state Senators Lindsey Graham and Tim Scott — were running a bit late.
“‘You have to understand, they haven’t got to do any politicking for a while,’ said the M.C., Robert Rabon of the Horry County Republican Party. ‘They’re like a kid in a candy store — they’re going wild!’ And with that passing mention, South Carolina Republicans returned to the normal rhythm of the campaign trail, coronavirus all the same. …
“‘Social distancing guidelines are recommended,’ the invitation had said. ‘Hand sanitizer and face masks will be available.’ In reality, according to interviews with more than a dozen attendees, the event was an active rejection of behavior that the hyper-conservative crowd has come to associate with liberal enemies in recent months — wearing masks and gloves, staying six feet away from other people, avoiding physical touch.
“To treat the coronavirus as something to be feared, they said, was a political act incongruous with their values.” NYT
TRUMP’S SATURDAY: The president and first lady will leave the White House at 12:10 p.m. for Andrews, where they will fly to the Kennedy Space Center. At 5 p.m., the president will deliver remarks. At 6:10 p.m., they will leave Kennedy for Andrews. They are scheduled back to the White House at 8:15 p.m.
WHAT MIKE POMPEO IS READING — “Kris Kobach Is Back, and a Kansas Senate Seat May Be Up for Grabs,” by NYT’s Katie Glueck in Leawood, Kan.: “It has been 88 years since Kansas last sent a Democrat to the United States Senate — one of only three Democrats ever to represent the state in the upper chamber. But this year, in a challenging and unstable political environment for Republicans, party leaders are growing fearful that this reliably Republican stronghold will instead become an expensive, high-stakes battleground that could determine the balance of power in Washington.
“Ahead of the August primary, Democrats have largely rallied around Barbara Bollier, a retired anesthesiologist who was until recently a Republican. Republicans, meanwhile, are locked in an intraparty competition that has all of the trappings of a full-out brawl: attack ads, bitter recriminations between the candidates and a party chair who tried to intervene and sparked backlash. At the center of the fireworks is Kris W. Kobach, a hard-line Trump supporter who has been an incendiary presence in Kansas politics for years.” NYT
THE LATEST ON CHINA — “Trump Takes Steps Meant to Punish Beijing Over Hong Kong,” by WSJ’s Andrew Restuccia and Kate O’Keeffe: “President Trump launched initiatives meant to punish China for tightening control over Hong Kong and for misdeeds from espionage to its handling of the coronavirus pandemic, in moves likely to compound a tense rivalry with Beijing.
“The actions Mr. Trump announced Friday include withdrawing from the World Health Organization, suspending entry to the U.S. by Chinese nationals deemed security risks to American scientific research and scrutinizing Chinese companies listed on U.S. markets.
He also said the U.S. would start rolling back special preferences for Hong Kong, and he threatened to place sanctions on Chinese and Hong Kong officials ‘directly or indirectly involved in eroding Hong Kong’s autonomy’ after China moved ahead with plans to impose potentially draconian national-security laws on the city.
“The Chinese Embassy in Washington, asked for comment, referred to recent government statements calling for a global response to the pandemic and urging the U.S. to do its part to better manage problems in relations between the two countries.” WSJ
MAGA HITS EUROPE — “Back off, Trump. Germany wants to Make Europe Strong Again,” by Joshua Posaner and Hans von der Burchard in Berlin: “Forget Make America Great Again. Here comes Make Europe Strong Again. The German government has settled on ‘Gemeinsam. Europa wieder stark machen’ — which translates into English as ‘Together. Making Europe strong again’ — as its slogan for the country’s upcoming presidency of the Council of the EU, which kicks off on July 1.
“The official English motto is a less Trumpian ‘Together for Europe’s recovery,’ however.
Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman, Steffen Seibert, said Friday that the motto — launched along with a Möbius strip logo and website — aims to illustrate the German presidency will have to ‘find compromises and solutions to tackle the challenges posed by the corona pandemic’ across Europe.
“The logo is meant to symbolize ‘joint action emerging from the EU’s diversity again and again,[ he said. POLITICO
BUSINESS BURST — “Shoppers Were Pampered at Wegmans. Now They Are the Grocer’s Biggest Risk,” by WSJ’s Jaewon Kang: “Wegmans became one of the country’s most famous grocery store chains by lavishly pampering its customers with cooking demonstrations, restaurants and movie nights. Now every customer is a potential risk. The shift required by the age of Covid-19 represents an existential challenge to the 104-year-old family-owned company as it upends a shopping experience that made it a household name across the U.S. Northeast.
“The chain’s famed food bars, which sell everything from pizza to sushi, are closed. Its beloved free samples are gone. It removed varieties of pasta sauce, yogurt and butter as Wegmans loaded up on basic staples. Its stores—built to resemble European-style market halls—now feature plexiglass dividers at cash registers and more security guards to keep customers in line. …
“That same dilemma is now a core problem for many businesses that constructed a culture around indulging the customer. Walt Disney Co., known for feting customers at its theme parks with an extreme attention to cleanliness and order, plans to reopen Disney World in July with mandatory temperature screenings, a ‘social-distancing squad’ that will encourage visitors to stay 6 feet apart and no meet-and-greets with favorite Disney characters. Nordstrom Inc., a department-store chain famous for its personal styling, is warning customers that specialized services like alterations, skin care and beauty makeovers may be unavailable as it reopens certain locations.”
CLICKER — “The nation’s cartoonists on the week in politics,” edited by Matt Wuerker — 18 keepers
GREAT WEEKEND READS, curated by Margy Slattery and the staff of POLITICO Magazine:
— “A Window Onto an American Nightmare,” by Nathan Heller in The New Yorker: “As the homelessness crisis and the coronavirus crisis converge, what can we learn from one city’s struggles?” New Yorker
— “Surviving It All,” by Rebecca Traister in New York magazine’s The Cut: “She’s 92, made it through the Holocaust, and set off for a cruise around the world in February.” New York
— “The Man in the Iron Lung,” by Linda Rodriguez McRobbie in The Guardian: “No one expected someone who needed an iron lung to live this long. And after surviving one deadly epidemic, Paul [Alexander] did not expect to find himself threatened by another.” Guardian
— “The Evidence Against Her,” by Justine van der Leun in Medium’s GEN, with Type Investigations: “When Nikki Addimando shot her abusive partner, she thought she had enough proof it was self-defense. Why did the prosecution only see a cold-blooded killer?” GEN
— “America’s Never-Ending Battle Against Flesh-Eating Worms,” by Sarah Zhang in The Atlantic: “Inside the U.S. and Panama’s long-running collaboration to rid an entire continent of a deadly disease.” Atlantic
— “The Remaking of Steve Buscemi,” by Gabriella Paiella in GQ: “Hollywood’s most beloved misfit opens up about anxiety, loss, and the hard work of getting through it all.” GQ
— “America’s First Connoisseur,” by Edward White in The Paris Review: “It was [James] Hemings who produced the sophisticated haute cuisine dishes with a demotic, Southern twist that we now think of as emblematically Jeffersonian.” Paris Review
— “Jerry’s Dirt,” by Jacob Baynham in the fall 2019 issue of The Georgia Review, winner this week of the National Magazine Award for profile writing: “By now the cancer was accumulating. I imagined it welling up inside his body like a bruise-colored summer thunderhead, the kind of storm that smells of dust long before it ever smells of rain.” Georgia Review
BOOK CLUB — Brookings’ STROBE TALBOTT has a new book coming out July 28: “Our Founders’ Warning: The Age of Reason Meets the Age of Trump.” Brookings is billing it as “an examination of the 45th President’s character through the lens of the original six: Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, and John Quincy Adams.”
Send tips to Eli Okun and Garrett Ross at [email protected].
IN MEMORIAM — Veteran GOP political consultant Matt Robbins, 49, passed away Wednesday after facing complications from Covid-19. Robbins got his start in politics working in the Virginia House of Delegates. He later served as director of training at the Leadership Institution in Arlington, regional coalitions director for the McCain-Palin 2008 presidential campaign and political director for the California Republican Party. Most recently he served as national executive director of American Majority before transitioning to working as an independent consultant. He also served as deputy coordinator of War Veterans PAC. He is survived by his daughter Lily.
“Matt was known for his winsome personality, his love of motion pictures, his quick-wit, his voice of reason when it came to Republican politics and, of course, his devotion to his daughter. He will be terribly missed by those that were fortunate enough to call him his friend,” Scott Faircloth emailed.
BIRTHDAYS: NBC’s Frank Thorp … White House’s Jeff Freeland and Holland & Knight’s Scott Mason, wishing they could celebrate in style with friends in center field at a Nats game … Kim Kingsley, head of content strategy at Airbnb … Jenna Lee … Jake Hargraves … Holly Page … Miryam Lipper is 29 … NYT’s Michelle Cottle is 5-0 … former Rep. Steve Israel (D-N.Y.) is 62 … Stratton Kirton … Loren Duggan … Alan Berger … Ashe Schow, senior editor at the Daily Wire … CNN’s Eric Levenson … Shawnda Westly … Gautham Nagesh … Larry Silverstein is 89 … Lindsey Davis Stover … NYT’s Kirsten Danis … Lisa Stark, assistant VP for comms and media at American University … BBC’s David Shukman is 62 … Michael Altschul, former general counsel of CTIA, is 71 (h/t wife Christine Werner) …
… Nicole Longo, director of public affairs at PhRMA … Josh Gatlin is 44 … Rob Noel … Rachel Clark … Joe Williams … Reema Dodin … Rusty Pickens is 41 … Steve Kramer is 51 … Karen Quarles … POLITICO’s Pratyusha Sankuratri and Alejandro Centurion Estrada … Jeff Quain, director of operations for J Strategies … Jenna Klaus … Ashley Bender, associate at Arnold & Porter (h/t Trey Herr) … Marcus Messner … Victoria Kucharski … Hunter Williams … Brian Infante is 3-0 … Fiona Maxwell … Sophia Zaller … Lauren Nevin … Nicholas Ballasy … Sheila Ali-Oston … Doug Grane, co-founder and partner at St. Andrews Partners … Greg Moore … Paul Scharff … Thomas Cluderay … Steve Kramer … Gary Lee … Jorna Taylor … Chris Gowen … Joe Cowie (h/ts Teresa Vilmain) … Stephanie Bosh
THE SHOWS (Full Sunday show listing here):
ABC “This Week”: Speaker Nancy Pelosi … Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) … National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien. Panel: Chris Christie, Cecilia Vega and Patrick Gaspard.
Fox “Fox News Sunday”: Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.). … Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison … Andy Skoggman … Cornel West. Panel: Michael Anton, Dana Perino and Mo Elleithee. Power Player of the Week: Lawrence Wright.
NBC “Meet the Press”: Rep. Val Demings (D-Fla.). … Shaquille Brewster (live from Minneapolis). Panel: Joshua Johnson, Pat McCrory and Maria Teresa Kumar.
CBS “Face the Nation”: Benjamin Crump … David Brown … Scott Gottleib … Tom Wyatt.
CNN “State of the Union”: Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) … Robert O’Brien.
Sinclair TV “America This Week with Eric Bolling”: Peter Navarro … Jerry and Becki Falwell … Marc Lamont Hill … Ronna McDaniel … K.T. McFarland … Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.).
Gray TV “Full Court Press with Greta van Susteren”: Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson. … Colorado Gov. Jared Polis … Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison
- Anna Palmer @apalmerdc
- Jake Sherman @JakeSherman
