Image: THE CITY THAT NEVER SLEEPS. 60 x 60 x 4 cm. 2013. Private Collection, USA.

MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN.

The white House is in shutdown this week because of the fear for the safety of Donald Trump and the White House staff. The US has experienced countrywide civil unrest as the result of  killing of an unarmed black man, George Floyd, by a police officer,Derek Chauvin, kneeling on Floyds neck after his  arrest.  Violent clashes  between demonstrators and police have ensued in many states throughout America. Angry crowds took to stone throwing, burning and looting, with police replying with pepper spray and tear gas. Last night Chauvin was charged with manslaughter and Third Degree Murder. 

According to the Guardian web site: ‘In a since-deleted tweet, Donald Trump appeared to insinuate that protesters outside the White House last night were being paid – or at least were directed by professionals. The president is, of course, known for his unfounded conspiracy theories’. One of his recent tweets drew a ‘fact check’ from twitter, and perhaps by way of retribution, on Thursday President Trump signed an executive order aimed at limiting the freedom of social media platforms. These events come at a very difficult political juncture for Trump, with the US elections on the horizon, the rising Covid 19 death toll in major cities, together with skyrocketing unemployment and protests about the lockdown in the rust belt. Accusations of institutional racism in the police is the last thing he wants, when his  campaign relies on the trust of the public in the forces of law and order to make America great again. 

If you think the political situation in the UK is bad you may wish to revise your assessments.