June 12, 2020

"We want law and order. We have to have a lot of good things, but we have to have law and order. Got to have some strength. You have to have strength."

"You have to do what you have to do. And you look at a Seattle. We just came in. We just see over the screen and we’ve been hearing about it. Bill and I were talking about it. The law and order, look at what happened in Seattle. They took over a city, a city, a big city, Seattle, a chunk of it. A big chunk. Can’t happen. That couldn’t happen here I don’t think in the state of Texas. I don’t think so. I don’t think so."

Shockingly short sentences and sentence fragments began Donald Trump remarks at the Roundtable Meeting on Justice Disparities in America yesterday in Dallas, Texas (full transcript).

A city, a city, a big city, Seattle, a chunk of it. A big chunk. Can’t happen.

I wonder why he's doing that. Perhaps he can't help it, but I think he's choosing it. It's political poetry. It says: LAW AND ORDER. It's the simplest theme for a politician. He's there. On that theme. You know it. It's everything. Got to have law and order. Or you have nothing. Nothing.

The speech becomes somewhat less staccato:

Politicians make false charges and they’re trying to distract from their own failed records. They have some very bad records and these are usually the ones that cause the problems or can’t solve the problems. These are the same politicians who shipped our jobs away and took tremendous advantage of all Americans, but African American middle class. So much of that wealth and that money and those jobs went to China and other countries and they get trapped. They get trapped. They get trapped in a government morass. They get trapped in bad government schools. So I’m going to be announcing four steps to build safety and opportunity and dignity.
There had better be 4 steps. The steps involve law and order ("safety"), economics ("opportunity"), and something more psychological ("dignity"):

First, we’re aggressively pursuing economic development in minority communities. We’re doing it very powerfully. We’ve done it with opportunity zones, but we’re going to go above that. At the heart of this effort is increasing access to capital for small businesses and that’s with minority owners in black communities and we’re going to get it done and it should have been done a long time ago. It’s been very difficult, very, very difficult for some people, been unfairly difficult.

Second we’re confronting the healthcare disparities, including addressing chronic conditions and investing substantial sums in minority serving medical institutions. We have medical institutions in some areas of our country that are a disgrace. I was going to say not up to standard. They’re much worse than not up to standard. They’re a disgrace. Take care of it.

Third, we’re working to finalize an executive order that will encourage police departments nationwide to meet the most current professional standards for the use of force, including tactics for deescalation. Also we’ll encourage pilot programs that allow social workers to join certain law enforcement officers so that they work together. We’ll take care of our police. We’re not defunding police. If anything, we’re going the other route. We’re going to make sure that our police are well-trained, perfectly trained, they have the best equipment.
The solution for the police is to "make sure" they're "perfectly trained." He's picked up the Democratic candidate tic — "make sure." They purported way to do something it to state the desired goal and then insert the phrase "make sure" in front of it. But these are 3 good, moderate ideas about "justice disparities."

He never says "fourth" or "four," but maybe the fourth step was in this somewhere. What I see in the transcript is a switch to talking about the violence...
There are violent people around, Pastor. Even, you will admit that, right? We want to think the best, but you have some very violent people. And when they’re breaking into your house at 12:00 in the evening and you’re sitting there and you don’t have a police force, they’re actually talking about not having a police force. Well, that’s not happening with us. We’re going to have stronger police forces because that’s what you need. In Minneapolis, they went through three nights of hell.
And the answer to the violence is LAW AND ORDER — provided by Trump:
And then I was insistent on having the National Guard go in and do their work. It was like a miracle. It’s just everything stopped. And I’ll never forget the scene. It’s not supposed to be a beautiful scene. But to me, it was after you watched policemen running out of a police precinct. And it wasn’t their fault. They wanted to do what they had to do, but they weren’t allowed to do anything. It wasn’t really their fault, but they were running down the street. They weren’t allowed to do what they’re trained to do. And they took over the precinct. They burned it, essentially burned it down.
And the answer to the destruction is CONSTRUCTION — and Trump is the expert....
I’m pretty good at construction. I want to tell you that was almost what we call a complete renovation, if you’re lucky.
Hmm. Is that some kind of construction industry joke? Demolition = renovation?

I'll stop here. It's a long transcript. Read it yourself. Or did you actually watch the event? I tried for a couple minutes.

39 comments:

Michael K said...

BLM was mobilized in the panic from a 41% positive poll by black voters.

h said...

How about this. Accept the claim that the territory is no longer part of the US. Set up an enforceable border (fence or wall or line of vehicles). Require a passport to enter the US, and perhaps a Visa from the US department of State as well. Announce US willingness to negotiate trade and other agreements (including repatriation). Then just wait.

Darrell said...

Trump is love. Trump is life.

Tina Trent said...

"Police to train themselves" is the opposite of what leftists are demanding, and Trump worded it this way intentionally. In Congress, the Democrat proposals are all about taking that training away from the police and having various leftist ideologues turn police training into Maoist struggle sessions under the aegis of the leftists larded throughout the DOJ. Unfortunately but predictably, the Republicans are either carrying Democrat water or pretending to look for their lost balls.

I think Trump has made a deal with his handlers: he'll read their prepared notes if he gets to start with a few minutes of extemporaneous off-the-cuff. It's often effective. Obama was never good at this unless he was talking about himself. But the media focuses on the worst of any Trump speech while wistfully whispering Obama's greatest lines.

rehajm said...

Left is winning. Instead of Biden's rapeyness and dementia or politico perp walks for the coup plotters he's playing defense and having to extinguish the arson fires ignited by the left.

wendybar said...

He's not wrong. Just imagine if a Conservative group with guns formed their own country within this country. The Media would be crying and screaming that we were going to kill them all. They are pathetic acting like this is not a bad thing. This isn't going to end pretty, and I am worried about Trump's safety with so much hate out there.

wendybar said...

Just a few weeks ago, the Media were crying about the armed lockdown protests that were peaceful. Crying and screaming about peaceful people, and then turning around and calling rioters and looters "mostly peaceful". What a bunch of bullshit. This is why we are divided.

rhhardin said...

Law and order isn't a pleonasm. They're two things, hidden in a single cliche.

Say it as order and law, and they separate again.

Otto said...

Renovation is reconstruction.In renovation you tear something down and then you constuct anew. Why is that so hard for you to understand. You just can't stand Trump.

Owen said...

Thanks, Prof A, doing the dirty work so we won’t have to.

Four things. Four things. Did I mention? Four things, four. Perfect!

...Actually, to your point? It is a kind of poetry. Poetry is creation, and Trump is always creating. Night and day, rain or shine, I think he is “processing” (😖) the stream of events like a large engine at high idle, not under load, ready to howl if you step on the gas, a street-style combat awareness, with perfect (PERFECT) fingerspitzengefühl, ready to attack, attack, attack, absolutely happy.

rehajm said...

DUN DUN!

Mr. Forward said...

"You have to do what you have to do. And you look at a Seattle. We just came in. We just see over the screen and we’ve been hearing about it, look at what happened in Seattle. A city, a big city, Seattle, a chunk of it. A big chunk. Can’t happen. That couldn’t happen here I don’t think in the state of Texas. I don’t think so. I don’t think so."
On The Road with Donald Trump

iowan2 said...

LAW AND ORDER. It's the simplest theme for a politician. He's there. On that theme. You know it. It's everything. Got to have law and order. Or you have nothing. Nothing.

I always drill down to the core, when things or intractable.

What is the reason we form governments? Our representative republic is an experiment. Govt exists only with the consent of the governed. Consent Start there. Our rules, procedures, and laws...only are effective until the governed stop consenting, or obeying. The lock down worked great, until the governed started to ignore government. A small percentage of the governed, rescinding consent, and all the enforcement government can throw at an uprising is destined to fail.

Today's politicians have to re-learn with the consent of the governed

Mr. Forward said...

“.the Seattle of ships—ramps—clocks—totem poles—old locomotives switching on the waterfront—steam—smoke—SkidRow, bars—Indians—the Seattle of my boyhood vision I see there in rusted old junkyard with old non color fence leaning in a general maze. (Desolation Angels 101) Kerouac

Howard said...

"Law & Order" is a dog whistle for cowards telling them that everything will be okay.

However just a few short weeks ago you people were talking about resisting the tyranny of the police state. Claiming that freedom was more important than security by quoting Benjamin Franklin. Now that people are actually showing their balls by doing it you all the sudden want Law and Order.

Marcus Bressler said...

Blowback: "Trump LIED. The CHAZ is NOT a "big" chunk of Seattle.

THEOLDMAN

He's exaggerating (as he very often does) to bring attention to the lie going around that this is not happening (a violent occupation of a section of a major city including a police precinct. Had someone say a friend's FB post about CHAZ to be false as it did not come from a credible (his words) news source. Bwahahaha. I posted a story from the WASHPOST and an excerpt from an CNN article. He then changed the debate, claiming there is no proof Antifa is involved.

Marcus Bressler said...

Cue Perry Como's "Seattle".

THEOLDMAN

He was a favorite of his hometown here in Jupiter FL.Very friendly and involved in the community.

ga6 said...

An’ I’ll get a swig in hell from Gunga Din!
Yes, Din! Din! Din!
You Lazarushian-leather Gunga Din!
Though I’ve belted you and flayed you,
By the livin’ Gawd that made you,
You’re a better man than I am, Gunga Din!

Jeff Brokaw said...

Unlike AA I see no need to dive deep on analyzing word choices with Trump — although I get why you do it, it’s just your thing.

He seems to be the only politician — can this be real?! — calling for law-and-order as a foundational organizing principle of a free society.

In other words, responsible civic-minded citizens first and foremost, constrainedby their internal moral codes, which is the exact opposite of mobs rioting and destroying property, obviously. Then law enforcement is layered on top of that to provide security and confidence and a future via the rule of law, property rights, etc.

He’s 100% right and I am disgusted by our lack of political will in this country to protect the general welfare and people’s property and businesses, along with valuable public resources and government buildings.

It’s a giant raised middle finger to America and everything it stands for. It changes everything for me. I will never trust any of these people again.

tcrosse said...

That style of speech is like Dana Carvey's version of George Bush père.

Rick said...

wendybar said...
He's not wrong. Just imagine if a Conservative group with guns formed their own country within this country.


The left media would describe them as traitors.

AustinRoth said...

Come November, which is more likely to be a winning strategy.

“I support anarchy and armed mobs taking over sections, or all, of US cities.”

“I support upholding the law and not allowing armed insurrection.”

Known Unknown said...

"He's not wrong. Just imagine if a Conservative group with guns formed their own country within this country."

Contrast media coverage with the Bundy's occupation of Malheur Wildlife Refuge.

rehajm said...

Come November, which is more likely to be a winning strategy.

That's why this stuff is happening in June. The emotions will still be there but the details of how they got there will be faded...

Paul Zrimsek said...

Don't know why. Thinks he's Hemingway? Just a guess.

ALP said...

Sigh. Making things bigger than they are serves no one. They took over several blocks of one very lefty neighborhood where most of the residents are probablly protestors as well. Don't give people more credit than they deserve.

Yancey Ward said...

"Short little spans of attention" these days don't allow for longer and more elegantly constructed sentences in speeches.

However, I have been watching Donald Trump for going on 40 years now, he has always talked like that- always.

AZ Bob said...

I heard the mayor of Seattle describe the so called Republic of Chaz as merely a block party, which, she added, are very common in Seattle. A NY Times story on the Republic of CHAZ, echos the sentiment that Chaz is working out perfectly:

"What has emerged is an experiment in life without the police — part street festival, part commune. Hundreds have gathered to hear speeches, poetry and music. On Tuesday night, dozens of people sat in the middle of an intersection to watch “13th,” the Ava DuVernay film about the criminal justice system’s impact on African-Americans. On Wednesday, children made chalk drawings in the street."

The NYT said "President Trump tried to portray the scenes in the city as something more sinister." And here's the NYT on the Seattle police chief's comments:

"Carmen Best, the police chief, said in a video message on Thursday that the decision to leave the police station was not hers and that she was angry about how it developed. She also shared, without evidence, concerns about problems in the area, such as businesses being asked to pay money in exchange for protection."

"Without evidence" has become ubiquitous in journalism for saying what is being quoted is BS. I think the NYT is BS when it tries to portray Chaz as puppies and unicorns.

mikee said...

Law and order: Laws exist to define punishable transgressions against regular orderly life, so that everyone agrees on things not allowed. Order is considered the normal everyday state of existence, without transgressions being committed.

It isn't because one breaks a law that one is punished. It is because one destroys the "order," the normal state, of another's life, through one's actions that violate laws.

It is even a strongly argued belief that "crimes" without victims, such as recreational pot use (for example), should therefore not be legislated against, as pot use (for example) does not disturb the order of anyone's life.

Law and Order is a platform, a policy, of legislated behavioral limits and support for individual freedom. The Maoist shitheads protesting today want nothing but unlimited authority, without even a defined method of exercing it other than "I want this now."

RigelDog said...

ALP said: Don't give people more credit than they deserve.}}}

It's a big deal that cities like Seattle and Portland have been willing to allow favored groups to establish no-go zones, where civil rights disappear and despots rule. It shows something momentous, beyond the surface optics.

RigelDog said...

Had to laugh today when I read about the alleged conditions in CHAZ. The ideal progressive community with equity and black empowerment and feminism and rejection of interpersonal violence as its core foundational principles is apparently ruled by a MAN who beats the crap out of anyone in the community who displeases him.

Jim at said...

Just imagine if a Conservative group with guns formed their own country within this country. The Media would be crying and screaming that we were going to kill them all.

Don't need to imagine. Simply go back to the coverage of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge 'takeover.' You know, the one where the facility was actually closed for the season and the feds still decided to kill a guy?

The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...

"Blowback: "Trump LIED. The CHAZ is NOT a "big" chunk of Seattle."

Six blocks of prime downtown real estate is a "big chunk".

todd galle said...

I'm from the Philly suburbs, we did 'block parties' on our streets in the late '60s, early 70s. I don't recall any weapons, spray paint, arson or looting. The local cops would come by for a hot dog and soda and chat. All good. Now my neighbor is asking whether I'd loan out my firearms to protect our block, like I'm the 2nd Amendment Library or something.

I always thought (well, know) the '70s sucked I was there, but this is getting a bit ridiculous and tedious. I'll go onto cataloguing my Tudor and Stuart coin additions to insulate myself and wife. Just got an Edward VI hammered shilling (not dated, probably Canterbury Mint), and a 1707 Queen Anne shilling (curiously scratched - most likely to prove it's silver and not a forgery).

Let those that will, rage in their neighborhoods, just don't come here, otherwise I may decide to open the Library.

Mark said...

Badges? We don't need no stinkin' badges.

Minneapolis City Council resolves to replace police with community-led model

(Reuters) - The Minneapolis City Council on Friday unanimously passed a resolution to pursue a community-led public safety system to replace the police department following the death of George Floyd at the hands of the city’s police.

The move comes days after a veto-proof majority of the council voted to disband the police department after the country erupted in protest over the killing of Floyd, a black man who died when a white police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes.


https://www.reuters.com/article/us-minneapolis-police-protests-reform/minneapolis-city-council-resolves-to-replace-police-with-community-led-model-idUSKBN23J2W5

Whitesplain again how "defund the police" does not really mean abolishing the police department.

Mark said...

Oh Martha! Really?

She just quoted from someone objecting to the leadership model at CHAZ and apparently didn't realize that the person speaking was Dennis.*




* Of Holy Grail fame.

Mark said...

Censored from reddit -

I didn't vote for Raz.

I didn't vote for Raz. I thought we were an autonomous collective?

An anarcho-syndicalist commune at the least. We should take turns to act as a sort of executive officer for the week. But of course all the decisions of that officer would have to be ratified at a special bi-weekly meeting by a simple majority in the case of internal affairs, or two-thirds majority in the case of more major issues.

Raz can't just simply expect to wield supreme executive power just because someone threw a sword at him.

I'm Not Sure said...

"Whitesplain again how "defund the police" does not really mean abolishing the police department."

Well- they didn't really abolish it, they just replaced it. It all makes sense to idiots and Democrats (but I repeat myself).

Leora said...

The fourth point was School Choice. So the 4 point plan, is 1. more capital for black businesses in opportunity zones, 2. addressing shortfalls of medical institutions in poor neighborhoods, 3. better police training and oversight and 4. school choice. Oddly 3 of the 4 things are things public employee unions oppose.