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
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
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
More coverage from the Future Forum
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo
Power: 268hp at 5,600rpm
Torque: 380Nm at 4,800rpm
Transmission: CVT auto
Fuel consumption: 9.5L/100km
On sale: now
Price: from Dh195,000
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
The rules of the road keeping cyclists safe
Cyclists must wear a helmet, arm and knee pads
Have a white front-light and a back red-light on their bike
They must place a number plate with reflective light to the back of the bike to alert road-users
Avoid carrying weights that could cause the bike to lose balance
They must cycle on designated lanes and areas and ride safe on pavements to avoid bumping into pedestrians
Company profile
Date started: 2015
Founder: John Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki
Based: Dubai
Sector: Online grocery delivery
Staff: 200
Funding: Undisclosed, but investors include the Jabbar Internet Group and Venture Friends
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Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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The%20specs
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Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
The specs: 2018 Nissan Patrol Nismo
Price: base / as tested: Dh382,000
Engine: 5.6-litre V8
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 428hp @ 5,800rpm
Torque: 560Nm @ 3,600rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.7L / 100km
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
10 tips for entry-level job seekers
- Have an up-to-date, professional LinkedIn profile. If you don’t have a LinkedIn account, set one up today. Avoid poor-quality profile pictures with distracting backgrounds. Include a professional summary and begin to grow your network.
- Keep track of the job trends in your sector through the news. Apply for job alerts at your dream organisations and the types of jobs you want – LinkedIn uses AI to share similar relevant jobs based on your selections.
- Double check that you’ve highlighted relevant skills on your resume and LinkedIn profile.
- For most entry-level jobs, your resume will first be filtered by an applicant tracking system for keywords. Look closely at the description of the job you are applying for and mirror the language as much as possible (while being honest and accurate about your skills and experience).
- Keep your CV professional and in a simple format – make sure you tailor your cover letter and application to the company and role.
- Go online and look for details on job specifications for your target position. Make a list of skills required and set yourself some learning goals to tick off all the necessary skills one by one.
- Don’t be afraid to reach outside your immediate friends and family to other acquaintances and let them know you are looking for new opportunities.
- Make sure you’ve set your LinkedIn profile to signal that you are “open to opportunities”. Also be sure to use LinkedIn to search for people who are still actively hiring by searching for those that have the headline “I’m hiring” or “We’re hiring” in their profile.
- Prepare for online interviews using mock interview tools. Even before landing interviews, it can be useful to start practising.
- Be professional and patient. Always be professional with whoever you are interacting with throughout your search process, this will be remembered. You need to be patient, dedicated and not give up on your search. Candidates need to make sure they are following up appropriately for roles they have applied.
Arda Atalay, head of Mena private sector at LinkedIn Talent Solutions, Rudy Bier, managing partner of Kinetic Business Solutions and Ben Kinerman Daltrey, co-founder of KinFitz
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THE BIO
Favourite car: Koenigsegg Agera RS or Renault Trezor concept car.
Favourite book: I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes or Red Notice by Bill Browder.
Biggest inspiration: My husband Nik. He really got me through a lot with his positivity.
Favourite holiday destination: Being at home in Australia, as I travel all over the world for work. It’s great to just hang out with my husband and family.
The biog
Hobbies: Writing and running
Favourite sport: beach volleyball
Favourite holiday destinations: Turkey and Puerto Rico
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The biog
Favourite film: Motorcycle Dairies, Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday, Kagemusha
Favourite book: One Hundred Years of Solitude
Holiday destination: Sri Lanka
First car: VW Golf
Proudest achievement: Building Robotics Labs at Khalifa University and King’s College London, Daughters
Driverless cars or drones: Driverless Cars
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Hidden killer
Sepsis arises when the body tries to fight an infection but damages its own tissue and organs in the process.
The World Health Organisation estimates it affects about 30 million people each year and that about six million die.
Of those about three million are newborns and 1.2 are young children.
Patients with septic shock must often have limbs amputated if clots in their limbs prevent blood flow, causing the limbs to die.
Campaigners say the condition is often diagnosed far too late by medical professionals and that many patients wait too long to seek treatment, confusing the symptoms with flu.
FIXTURES
Nov 04-05: v Western Australia XI, Perth
Nov 08-11: v Cricket Australia XI, Adelaide
Nov 15-18 v Cricket Australia XI, Townsville (d/n)
Nov 23-27: 1ST TEST v AUSTRALIA, Brisbane
Dec 02-06: 2ND TEST v AUSTRALIA, Adelaide (d/n)
Dec 09-10: v Cricket Australia XI, Perth
Dec 14-18: 3RD TEST v AUSTRALIA, Perth
Dec 26-30 4TH TEST v AUSTRALIA, Melbourne
Jan 04-08: 5TH TEST v AUSTRALIA, Sydney
Note: d/n = day/night
Youth YouTuber Programme
The programme will be presented over two weeks and will cover the following topics:
- Learning, scripting, storytelling and basic shots
- Master on-camera presence and advanced script writing
- Beating the algorithm and reaching your core audience
