“The imagery of a head of state in a call with other governing officials saying, ‘Dominate the streets, dominate the battle space’ — these are iconic images that will define America for some time. It makes it much more difficult for us to distinguish ourselves from other countries we are trying to contest or influence.”
—Brett McGurk, former U.S. envoy to the Middle East, on Donald Trump’s conference call to governors in which he berated the state officials for being “weak.”
“It reminded me of what I reported on for years in the third world. Saddam. Bashar. Qaddafi. They all did this.”
—Marc Polymeropoulos, who formerly ran CIA operations in Europe and Asia, commenting on the teargassing of protesters on Monday so Trump could stroll across the street and hold up a Bible.
“I’ve seen this kind of violence. This is what autocrats do. This is what happens in countries before a collapse. It really does unnerve me.”
—Gail Helt, a former CIA analyst, in her criticism of Monday’s events.
Louisiana Voice 
Clear warning signs being totally ignored by some 35-40% of a population in danger/
And those 35-40% are the real danger to the rest of us. The buffoon in the White House, with his malignant narcissism, is the Piped Piper of Hamelin luring the ignorant citizenry with his magic pipe. The Piper knows how to play the tunes they want to hear. And hear him they do as he marches them to his dictatorial renditions. If his followers numbered in the 10-20% range I would be less concerned, but because that number is doubled, it is of extreme concern.
I certainly hope two things: One, that those young protestors are registered to vote, and two that they WILL vote in November along with the rest of us who have an understanding of the Piper’s ambitions for absolute power which are supported by the attitudes of the clueless.
The “protesters” are NOT the issue and you know that. The issue is the ones who are using the unfortunate and untimely death of a young man for passing a counterfeit bill. The death was nor deserved. That incident, though tragic, is hardly a justification for what has followed. I am ashamed that some of you choose to defend these rioters and looters who must be stopped.
Marc Polymeropoulos How dare you compare this to Saddam Hussein, You sir are an idiot. Sadaam would have shot the first looter and that would have been the last looter. Trump simply demands law and order and safety on the streets. He chastised Governors for making police back down and allow chaos. I realize that is wrong to many Democrats but I would have thought you guys were not included in that small %. . McGurk is the guy who resigned when Trump said he wanted to pull out of the Civil War in Syria because we do not belong there but had been for years; Obviously he is not going to support Trump in anything.
And CJ, Stephen; both of you know better than what you imply; the danger is NOT the law abiding citizens but the fools who support looters and riots. Protest is one thing and criminality is something else again. Would you support looting in Louisiana ?
NO ONE is supporting the looters and rioters, you ignoramus! And Trump has threatened to shoot looters and only backed off when the public reaction was such that he could not defend his idiotic rhetoric.
You are insisting on saying that we support looters and rioters and you know damned well that’s not true, so please stop saying it. The ones teargassed in Lafayette Square Monday were not rioters. They were not looters. They were protesting the double standard in law enforcement. Yes, George Floyd was trying to pass a counterfeit document but that’s mild compared to Jared Kushner’s theft of ventilators.
You cannot deny that there is a different standard of treatment for black offenders than for whites. This has been shown over and over and over and over. And all Trump does is praise the white supremacists – over and over and over and over.
And you have yet to answer my earlier request that you provide examples of things Trump has done that are good for Americans. Again, do not be ambiguous but be specific.
Again, shut your mouth about anyone defending looters and rioters because it is not so!
Okay, folks, let’s just stay calm here. Zoe has a right to her opinion, whether we happen to agree or not.
Tom, I’m trying to remain calm. I really am. But when Zoe can defend Trump’s pardon of a Navy Seal for what were clearly heinous crimes and which should have been within the purview of the military and at the same time paint all the protesters with the same broad “looters and rioters” brush and defend Trump’s threat to bring in the military, I just lose it. When she repeatedly alludes to all the good things Trump has done without providing the first real example, I find it impossible to not call her out. Her clear double standard and lack of sympathy and empathy for those less fortunate cast her as some sort of ogre with whom you would never want to be associated. Somehow, one gets the distinct feeling that she must be a really unhappy person.
Mr. Winham seems to think she may be a bot. Perhaps so. But I have to make this observation and then, after saying my piece, I’ll back off and force myself not to respond to her gibberish in the future.
That observation is this: Zoe claims to be a nurse. And while I don’t know what kind of nurse she is or where she works, all I can say is, God willing, none of us will EVER have the misfortune of being placed in her loving care because she is without doubt one of the LEAST compassionate people I’ve ever encountered.
Ms. Zoe, you sound just like Trump. Use distractions to deflect truthful criticisms. Where o where have you seen any of us defending “rioters and looters”? You must be reading a different version of Louisiana Voice than I am…so please direct me to it.
And who does not want “law and order” in the streets? Which we would have if the “trouble makers” were not imbedding themselves amongst the peaceful protesters. Wouldn’t it be nice if the bad apples wore printed shirts that identified them as such and made it easier for the police to separate them out from the ones trying to send a legitimate message? But the “fools” are the Trump supporters who color the entire protest movement as looters and rioters. Or made up entirely of left wing radicals.
And you need to go read some more history about how dictators rise to power. The steps that Trump is taking are the beginning steps that all dictators employ. Including Hussein. And by withdrawing troops out of Syria, do you mean abandoning our allies, the Kurds, then realizing the folly of that and then lying his way into reasons for keeping them there after all?
Like Trump, you are subverting the facts and spinning a yarn.