A proven antidote to political division is a common enemy. The greater the powers organized against people, the stronger the bond becomes among disparate groups. Think 9/11.
Now turn your gaze to Minneapolis.
Never did I imagine that the existential threat to America’s democratic republic would be posed by our own government. Maybe I’ve been naive, but I’ve always believed that a constitutional commitment to moral principles, especially the rule of law, meant we were protected from the fates of less blessed nations. America was the exceptional country, created by a confluence of great men and minds at a unique moment in history.
But something has happened to the nation. We’re not the same people we were as recently as 2016, when the norm-shattering Donald Trump came to power. He stepped into a role tailor-made for him at a time when the future seemed up for grabs. His vision for the United States has hardened into something unrecognizable while his methods have escalated into lawlessness. I’m reminded of the character Randall Flagg from Stephen King’s 1978 novel, “The Stand.” Flagg was a sorcerer and cult leader who served chaos, darkness, destruction and conflict to bring down civilization.
King’s horror story, which culminates in a showdown between good and evil, could be a metaphor for today’s partisan hostility. The recent killings of two Minnesota citizens protesting the roughly 3,000-strong federal invasion and stormtrooper tactics make King’s masterpiece seem hauntingly prescient and, perhaps, prescriptive.
The Minneapolis chaos isn’t random but likely politically retributive (note the preference from Immigration and Customs Enforcement for blue states) and perhaps tied to the midterms and 2028 election, both of which Trump probably wouldn’t mind canceling. By creating chaos, this unrestrained president can justify imposing stricter controls, potentially leading to more military occupation across the country. That’s one way to obstruct the nation’s electoral system. The Jan. 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol didn’t quite do the trick.
I’m convinced by the evidence — thanks to citizen cameras — and my own eyes that using lethal force against Renée Good and Alex Pretti was not justified. My colleague George F. Will hit a sweet spot with his column arguing “it is good citizenship to assume that everything ICE says, and everything the administration says in support of its deportation mania, is untrue until proved to be otherwise.”
Jonathan Rauch, writing in the Atlantic, laid out a convincing case for calling Trump’s policies “fascism,” discarding the word he previously used, patrimonialism, to describe them. Patrimonialism, he explained, is a governing style while fascism is ideological, aggressive and, at first, revolutionary. Rauch provided 18 examples of Trump-style fascism, including glorifying violence and a might-is-right worldview. Not using “fascist” now, he said, would be “perverse.”
Do yourself a favor and read the article. Then mentally scroll through what you’ve seen in Minneapolis: Masked, armed men girded with bulletproof vests and other military effects, dragging people out of their homes into frigid streets, tossing women to the ground, detaining children, and shooting and killing civilians who are peacefully protesting. Pretti was holding a phone when agents used pepper spray on him, before he was beaten and shot multiple times.
Although Trump has taken some measures to mitigate the public outcry following Pretti’s killing, they’re not enough. He sidelined Homeland Security Secretary Kristi L. Noem for her mindless jabber that included calling Pretti a “domestic terrorist” for using a cellphone to film agents abusing a woman. Noem should be sent home to South Dakota. Trump also swapped out his top gun in Minnesota, Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino, for border czar Tom Homan, who said he plans to “draw down” agents there. Some cold comfort, that. ICE agents involved in the killings should be charged rather than merely suspended.
But Trump’s White House, whose officials lately have been posting racist and antisemitic coded messages on social media, doesn’t see things this way. Trump likes chaos, and his self-serving goals become more achievable as long as it lasts. This means ICE will continue its dangerous deployments with Trump’s blessing — and journalists who try to expose the reality on the ground pay the price. On Thursday night and Friday morning, former CNN anchor Don Lemon and independent journalist Georgia Fort were arrested by federal agents in connection to their coverage of an anti-ICE protest at a church in St. Paul.
Into this darkness, a slice of light pierces the gloom. The worm seems to be turning. Most Americans oppose what is happening, while other countries file formal protests and issue travel warnings to citizens considering a U.S. destination. Even some MAGA voters must loathe what they’re seeing. Welcome to the light, friends. America’s partisans, and all of those trapped between, have a common enemy and a unifying mission to stop the madness. It’s time to take a stand.
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