Trump’s Militarized Deployments to Chicago and Portland Reveal His Creeping Fascism
Statement of Robert Weissman, President, Public Citizen
The deployment of militarized federal agents to Portland, Oregon, and now Chicago, Illinois, is much more than an attempt by President Donald Trump to distract attention from his utter failure to control the coronavirus pandemic. It is the creeping fascism of a desperate politician who cares about no one and nothing other than himself.
All Americans who care about the rule of law must unite against Trump’s authoritarianism. This includes Republicans who claim to care about federalism and local control. It also includes those inside the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and other agencies, whose purpose and mission Trump aims to pervert and politicize. They must find ways to resist, including by resigning rather than enabling Trump’s despotic tendencies.
There is no chance that Portland and Chicago will be the end of this unless Americans unite now.