Washington: President Trump was heavily guarded by troops and police in riot gear in spite of the protest by people of colour was mostly peaceful this week. But he could not escape the wrath of ex-presidents and top ranking military officers.
His calls to “dominate” the demonstrators have been criticised sharply by the previous presidents calling for unity and reflecting on persistent racial injustices.
James Mattis, the former member of Trump’s Cabinet, who was also his first and former defense secretary on Wednesday denounced the commander-in-chief as a threat to the Constitution, saying he’s been “angry and appalled” in watching his handling of the protests that have followed George Floyd’s death.
St. Paul: Police take control of the area near the Super Target against protesters Thursday, May 28, 2020, in St. Paul, Minn. Protests over the death of George Floyd, a black man who died in police custody, broke out in Minneapolis for a third straight night. AP/PTI Photo(AP29-05-2020_000016B) St. Paul: Firefighters battle flames at a business along University Avenue as riot officers police the street, Thursday, May 28, 2020 in St. Paul, Minn. Protests over the death of George Floyd, a black man who died in police custody, broke out in Minneapolis for a third straight night. AP/PTI Photo(AP29-05-2020_000014B) Minneapolis: People walk past a destroyed Auto Zone store near the Minneapolis Police Third Precinct Thursday, May 28, 2020, in Minneapolis, after a night of rioting and looting as protests continue over the death of George Floyd, who was seen on video gasping for breath during an arrest in which an officer kneeled on his neck. AP/PTI(AP28-05-2020_000247B) 
Minneapolis: A man runs near a burning building after a night of unrest and protests in the death of George Floyd early Thursday, May 28, 2020 in downtown Minneapolis. Floyd died after being restrained by Minneapolis police officers on Memorial Day. A video taken by a bystander shows a Minneapolis police officer with his knee on the neck of a man in custody who later died. The four officers involved have been fired. AP/PTI(AP28-05-2020_000230B)
“Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people — does not even pretend to try, instead he tries to divide us.” Mattis wrote in an essay in The Atlantic, abcnews has reported.
It was not just his former, but also his current secretary of defense, Mark Esper who broke with the president. Esper said that he did not think active-duty military troops should be dispatched to American cities to suppress unrest, after Trump threatened to do so.
Esper’s break with the president was not well received at the White House, where the press secretary, Kayleigh McEnany, made clear that Trump had the option to invoke a 213-year-old law, the Insurrection Act, which would allow him to do so.
“This president has one singular aim, and it is protecting America’s streets,” McEnany told reporters Wednesday.
How ex-presidents reacted
Former President Barack Obama expressed solidarity with peaceful protesters, saying their cause represented an “an incredible opportunity” for the country to confront the issues of systemic racism.
“They offer an opportunity for us to work together to tackle them, to take them on, to change America and make it live up to its highest ideals,” Obama said during a virtual town hall Wednesday. “Part of what’s made me so hopeful is the fact that so many young people have been galvanized and activated and motivated and mobilized. Because historically, so much of the progress that we’ve made in our society has been because of young people.”
Speaking directly to young people of color, he said, “I want you to know that your lives matter. Your dreams matter.”
Former President George W. Bush said he and former first lady Laura Bush “have resisted the urge to speak out, because this is not the time for us to lecture. It is time for us to listen.”
“It is a strength when protesters, protected by responsible law enforcement, march for a better future,” Bush said. “Those who set out to silence those voices do not understand the meaning of America — or how it becomes a better place.”
Former President Bill Clinton said it’s the time for the country to ask tough questions and reflect on persistent racism but that “we can’t honestly answer these questions in the divide and conquer, us vs. them, shift the blame and shirk the responsibility world we’re living in.”
“People with power should go first—answer the questions, expand who’s ‘us’ and shrink who’s ‘them,’ accept some blame, and assume more responsibility. But the rest of us have to answer these questions too,” Clinton said.
Former President Jimmy Carter said in a statement that he and former first lady Rosalynn Carter are “pained by the tragic racial injustices and consequent backlash across our nation in recent weeks.”
“We need a government as good as its people, and we are better than this,” the oldest living president said in a statement.