America at a crossroads: George Floyd's death redefines political battle lines

Former US secretary of defence Jim Mattis has joined current and past officials in stating their positions on the president as America looks to its most polarised polls in a generation

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  The Federal Hall in Manhattan, New York is seen marked with graffiti after protests against the death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd. Reuters

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  A NYPD policeman is seen during a protest in Brooklyn, New York City. Reuters

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  Protesters demonstrate during a peaceful march in downtown Houston, Texas. AFP

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  Protestors including British actor John Boyega, centre, raise their fists in Parliament square during an anti-racism demonstration in London. AFP

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  British actor John Boyega speaks to protestors in Parliament square during an anti-racism demonstration in London. AFP

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  Protesters kneel to demonstrate against the death of George Floyd near the US Capitol, in Washington, DC. AFP

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  Protestors hold placards and shout slogans as they march during an anti-racism demonstration in central London. AFP

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  People lay down in protest for the death of George Floyd near the US Capitol, in Washington, DC. AFP

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  Police officers react as they attempt to detain a protestor near the entrance to Downing Street, during an anti-racism demonstration in London. AFP

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  Protesters during a protest on the Malieveld in The Hague, The Netherlands. Organizer Black Lives Matter Netherlands organized the meeting in protest of violence against black people in the US and the death of 46-year-old George Floyd while in police custody. EPA

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  Protestors scuffle with Police officers near the entrance to Downing Street, during an anti-racism demonstration in London. AFP

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  Protestors hold placards during a demonstration in London. AFP

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  U.S. Army soldiers pass protesters as they arrive to maintain a perimeter during a rally against the death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd, near the White House, in Washington, U.S. REUTERS

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  Washington, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser bows her head in prayer during a vigil as protests continue on the streets near the White House over the death in police custody of George Floyd, in Washington, U.S. REUTERS

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  A demonstrator displays a message of protest on shoes as protesters rally against the death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd, near the White House in Washington, U.S. REUTERS

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  A police officer takes a knee in front of protesters near Downing Street during a "Black Lives Matter" protest following the death of George Floyd who died in police custody in Minneapolis, London, Britain. REUTERS

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  This combination of photos provided by the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office in Minnesota shows J. Alexander Kueng, from left, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao. They have been charged with aiding and abetting Derek Chauvin, who is charged with second-degree murder of George Floyd, a black man who died after being restrained by the Minneapolis police officers on May 25. AP

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  Hundreds of demonstrators lie face down depicting George Floyd during his detention by police during a protest against police brutality, on Boston Common. AP Photo

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  Atlanta Police Officer J. Coleman, left, and protester Elijah Raffington, of Sandy Springs, fist bump while an Atlanta Police bicycle unit blocking Marietta Street at Centennial Olympic Park Drive kneels down with protesters in a symbolic gesture of solidarity outside the CNN Center at Olympic Park, in Atlanta, during a protest sparked by the May 25 death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody. AP

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  People continue to gather near the intersection of 38th and Chicago in front of the Cup Foods at the spot where George Floyd was arrested and who later died in police custody, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. EPA

Donald Trump is the first US president in decades who does not even pretend to unite the American people, his former secretary of defence said in a blistering attack.

Jim Mattis, a respected former US Marine Corps general, has kept quiet about his time in the White House with Mr Trump since he walked out a year and a half ago.

But as a growing number of high-profile figures, serving and former, make their position known amid a surge in national anger at the killing of George Floyd in police custody, Mr Mattis also broke his silence.

“Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people, does not even pretend to try," he said.

"Instead, he tries to divide us. We are witnessing the consequences of three years of this deliberate effort.

"We are witnessing the consequences of three years without mature leadership."

Over the past four years, a consensus has grown around those who deal with Mr Trump.

They say flattery, praise and a quiet word yield results while public condemnation of the White House earns a quick rebuke from his Twitter account.

“Probably the only thing Barack Obama and I have in common is that we both had the honour of firing Jim Mattis, the world’s most overrated general,” the president tweeted in response to Mr Mattis's open letter.

Protests, president and national direction in their own words

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  Jim Mattis, Former Secretary of Defence: Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people—does not even pretend to try. Instead, he tries to divide us. We are witnessing the consequences of three years of this deliberate effort. Reuters, file

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  Mark Esper, United States Secretary of Defence: The option to use active duty forces in a law enforcement role should only be used as a matter of last resort, and only in the most urgent and dire of situations. We are not in one of those situations now. I do not support invoking the Insurrection Act. AP, file

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  Barack Obama, 44th President of the United States: Make sure that we now follow through, because at some point attention moves away, at some point protests start to dwindle in size. It’s very important for us to take the momentum that has been created as a society, as a country, and say let’s use this to finally have an impact. AFP, file

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  George W Bush, 43rd President of United States: The only way to see ourselves in a true light is to listen to the voices of so many who are hurting and grieving. Those who set out to silence those voices do not understand the meaning of America — or how it becomes a better place. Bloomberg, file

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  Keith Ellison, Attorney General for Minnesota: George Floyd is not here. He should be here, he should be alive, but he’s not. About nine days ago, the world watched Floyd utter his very last words, “I can’t breathe,” as he pled for his life. Reuters

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  Tom Cotton, Republican US Senator for Arkansas: Some elites have excused this orgy of violence in the spirit of radical chic, calling it an understandable response to the wrongful death of George Floyd. Those excuses are built on a revolting moral equivalence of rioters and looters to peaceful, law-abiding protesters... One thing above all else will restore order to our streets: an overwhelming show of force. AP, Pool, file

The US is at an important junction. In less than six months, Americans will head to the polls in one of the most polarised elections in a generation, between Mr Trump and former vice president Joe Biden.

America today is more divided than on the eve of the 2016 election that brought Mr Trump to power, Timothy Kneeland, chair of history and political science at Nazareth College in Rochester, told The National.

Although the mass protests that have broken out over the killing of Floyd in Minneapolis last week were unexpected, the battle lines for November are being quickly laid out.

Mr Kneeland said that despite the president appearing to be under immense pressure, even spending a night in a bunker as fires burned outside a darkened White House, “he is happiest when there is chaos".

Mr Trump is using a strategy “straight from Richard Nixon's playbook” in the narrow 1968 victory, Mr Kneeland said.

“He truly believes that his law and order message will resonate with white voters, who still outnumber people of colour in the US.”

But Mr Kneeland said Mr Mattis’s comments, and those this week from former presidents Barack Obama and George Bush and others, will have a political impact.

Peter Yacobucci, associate professor at SUNY Buffalo State College, said figures such as Mr Mattis were not the president’s traditional adversaries, so their statements carried significant influence.

“[Mr Mattis] is beloved within the military and for him to make such a clear denouncement of the president will have an impact on current and former military who, by-and-large, have stood with the president,” Mr Yacobucci said.

He said Mr Trump looking to sent in the military and the national guard to police the streets is “diametrically opposed to what the large majority of our all-volunteer service members signed up for".

Therefore, it could undermine one of his most loyal support bases.

Mr Kneeland said the impact would also be felt in the Senate and the Congress.

“Senate leaders, already anxious about losing the Senate to the Democrats, are more concerned about the impact of his statement in states where Democrats are leading in statewide polls,” Mr Kneeland said.

Nationally, Mr Biden has opened a nearly 10-point lead in some polls and the mood also plays into the local, state, congressional and Senate races also open this year.

But polling data and uneasy congresspeople are unlikely to alter the president’s course.

“His actions suggest his natural instincts are to double down on his most aggressive combative nature," Mr Yacobucci said.

"Recent polling, especially those done since the George Floyd murder surfaced, suggest this is driving many away from the president."

But as Mr Kneeland points out, since 2016 Mr Trump has reformed the Republican party.

Gone are many of those who saw him as the antithesis of their conservative values and in their place are firebrand ideologues ready to back his every word.

While even the president's current secretary of defence, Mark Esper, risked his job to say he did not agree  that the protests were a sufficient threat to warrant the military, Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton took to The New York Times to call for the intervention.

“One thing above all else will restore order to our streets: an overwhelming show of force to disperse, detain and ultimately deter lawbreakers,” Mr Cotton wrote.

But there is a sign that some more centrist Republicans are mobilising against Mr Trump.

On Monday, a new political action group called 43 Alumni For Biden was established by former officials in Mr Bush's administration to gather donations to Mr Biden's campaign.

Neither Mr Kneeland nor Mr Yacobucci regard November’s elections as a salve to the nation’s divisions.

“It will take a remarkable leader that simply may not be currently present,” Mr Yacobucci said.

Mr Kneeland sees it as a long, drawn-out process.

“The only thing that may change any of this is for the younger generation to embrace a new politics and wait for the older generation of voters to age out of the political process,” he said.

- Additional reporting by Cody Combs