President Trump responded to waves of demonstrations for racial justice on Wednesday by picking a fight over the legacy of the Confederacy, further inflaming the nation’s culture war at a time when tensions were already high after the killing of George Floyd and widespread street protests against police brutality. On the same day that Mr. Floyd’s brother pleaded with Congress to tackle racism in the United States, Mr. Trump publicly slapped down the Pentagon for considering renaming Army bases named after Confederate officers who fought against the Union during the Civil War. The White House said the president would go so far as to refuse to sign the annual defense authorization bill if Congress tried to force his hand. While Mr. Trump has denounced the killing, he has emphasized a law-and-order, pro-police message appealing to his hard-core base and dismissed complaints of systemic racism. Even some sectors of American life that Mr. Trump has catered to were breaking the other direction.

Source: New York Times June 11, 2020 00:23 UTC