Conservative writer Jonathan Last doesn't think much of President Donald Trump's latest appeals to "law and order" given that he and his White House have sewn chaos throughout the United States over the last four years.
Writing in The Bulwark, Last documents how Trump has regularly egged on violence among police and his own supporters, while at the same time making racist statements such as telling four congresswomen of color to "go back" to their home countries even though all four of them are American citizens.
Given all of this, argues Last, we should not be surprised to see escalating violence breaking out between left-wing demonstrators and right-wing counter-demonstrators.
"Donald Trump is not the man standing in the breach preventing America from descending into anarchy," he writes. "He is a pyromaniac campaigning for the office of fire marshal."
Last also shows how street fighting among Trump supporters and opponents has become a common occurrence in a way that didn't happen under former presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, or Ronald Reagan.
"Once Donald Trump arrived on the national stage, street fighting became a common feature of American politics," he writes.
Additionally, Last says that he cannot imagine anything like this happening under another Republican president, as he believes even a hardline conservative such as Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) would work to lower the temperature instead of stoking more anger.
