A retired four-star Marine general on Wednesday excoriated President Donald Trump’s threats to use the military on protesters and his controversial church photo op on Monday, writing that his actions “may well signal the beginning of the end of the American experiment.”
Gen. John Allen, the former commander of American forces in Afghanistan and former special presidential envoy for the Global Coalition to Counter ISIS under the Obama administration, wrote in an op-ed for Foreign Policy that “to even the casual observer, Monday was awful for the United States and its democracy.”
His comments come after the President declared himself “your president of law and order” as peaceful protesters just outside the White House gates were dispersed with gas, flash bangs and rubber bullets, apparently so Trump could visit a nearby church. He remained at the boarded-up building for a matter of minutes before returning to the White House.
The episode followed nearly a week of protests across the country that at times have turned violent over the death of George Floyd, a 46-year-old African American man who died while in police custody in Minneapolis.
“Donald Trump isn’t religious, has no need of religion, and doesn’t care about the devout, except insofar as they serve his political needs. The President failed to project any of the higher emotions or leadership desperately needed in every quarter of this nation during this dire moment,” Allen wrote.
“We know why he did all this on Monday. He even said so while holding the Bible and standing in front of the church. It was about MAGA—’making America great again,’” he continued.
Allen told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour on Thursday that he watched Monday’s events unfold “with horror, frankly.”
“That is what happens in authoritarian regimes. That is what happens in illiberal regimes” he continued. “It doesn’t happen in the United States, and we shouldn’t tolerate it.”
