The Wall Street Journal’s conservative editorial board pushed back on Thursday as President Donald Trump dangled the nuclear option in Minneapolis.
After the shooting of Renee Good, Trump threatened Thursday to invoke the Insurrection Act, an 1800s law that would allow him to deploy the military to restore order in the Twin Cities. The dramatic threat led the Journal to bemoan that in “better times with better political leaders,” the shooting would lead both sides on the issue to de-escalate and “calm the furies.”
“Instead, both sides are courting more confrontation that could end in even more bloodshed,” the board wrote.
The editorial noted that Trump’s threat to invoke the act comes as the protests in Minneapolis remain largely peaceful, punctuated by isolated incidents of obstruction and minor violence against ICE agents. They’re nowhere near the chaos that justified former President George H.W. Bush’s use of the act during the 1992 Los Angeles riots. Current law enforcement, the editorial argues, is equipped to handle individual cases through arrests and prosecutions.
Invoking the nuclear option could backfire, the editorial warned.
“Triggering the Insurrection Act might be White House aide Stephen Miller’s fondest wish, or so it seems. But it could incite more protests, and it might cause more voters to wonder why the country is so unhappy in the second Trump term. It would surely motivate more Democrats to vote in November unless there is a broad threat to public safety that law enforcement can’t handle,” the board said.
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