memeorandum: Mass upheaval and pandemic spell trouble for Tuesday's mega-primary (Zach Montellaro/Politico)

8:40 AM ET, June 2, 2020

Top Items:

Katie Rogers / New York Times:

Protesters Dispersed With Tear Gas So Trump Could Pose at Church — “He did not pray,” said Mariann E. Budde, the Episcopal bishop of Washington. “He did not mention George Floyd, he did not mention the agony of people who have been subjected to this kind of horrific expression of racism and white supremacy for hundreds of years.”

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, NPR, The American Spectator, The Gateway Pundit, Washington Post and The Wrap

Jonathan Swan / Axios:

Trump goes full law-and-order — President Trump's final decision to speak in the Rose Garden last evening as protests raged outside the gate was made only hours before, reflecting chaos on both sides of the fence. — Why it matters: Trump's ultimate remarks fell where his instincts always were …

Discussion: Mediaite and The New Civil Rights Movement

Jack Jenkins / Religion News Service:

Ahead of Trump Bible photo op, police forcibly expel priest from St. John's church near White House — U.S. — Judaism — Islam — Unaffiliated/Atheism — Hinduism — Buddhism — Sikhism — Alternative Faiths — Other Faiths — Cart — Apparel — Miscellaneous

CNN:

Pentagon officials express concern as Trump threatens to use military to ‘dominate’ protestors — Washington (CNN)Defense officials tell CNN there was deep and growing discomfort among some in the Pentagon even before President Donald Trump announced Monday that he is ready to deploy …

Discussion: KTVZ-TV and Variety

Yahoo News:

Australia probes US police assault on its journalists — Australia is investigating a US police attack on two Australian television journalists outside the White House, the foreign minister said Tuesday, expressing “strong concerns” about the assault caught live on camera.

Matthew Yglesias / Vox:

The most chilling aspect of Trump's Monday night crackdown on law-abiding protesters — President Trump leaves the White House on foot to go to St. John's Episcopal church across Lafayette Park on June 1. Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images — There was no need to do this before 7 …

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money

Washington Post:

Episcopal bishop on President Trump: ‘Everything he has said and done is to inflame violence’ — The Right Rev. Mariann Budde, the Episcopal bishop of Washington, was seething. — The president of the United States had just visited St. John's Episcopal Church, across from the White House …

Discussion: Reason, The Hill, The Guardian, Mediaite, TheStreet and Daily Kos

Washington Post:

Inside the push to tear-gas protesters ahead of a Trump photo op — President Trump began mulling a visit to St. John's Episcopal Church on Monday morning, after spending the night devouring cable news coverage of protests across the country, including in front of the White House.

Discussion: ABC News and Raw Story

Politico:

POLITICO Playbook: Washington can't fix this — DRIVING THE DAY — A NATION THAT'S HUNGRY FOR HEALING, searching for answers, tired, fed up, angry and confused is going to get a resounding answer from Washington pretty soon: — WE CAN'T FIX THIS. — AT SOME POINT OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS …

Discussion: New York Times, Associated Press and Breitbart

New York Times:

Tear Gas Clears Path for Trump to Visit Church — Police officers also used flash grenades to disperse a crowd so Mr. Trump could visit for a photo opportunity. And in New York, protesters and looters defied a curfew. — RIGHT NOW At least four police officers were struck by gunfire during …

NBC News:

Trump considering a move to invoke Insurrection Act — WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is considering invoking a 213-year-old federal law that would allow him to deploy active-duty U.S. troops to respond to protests in cities across the country, according to four people familiar with the internal White House discussions.

Discussion: Axios, Associated Press, New Republic, The Nation, Politico, Washington Post, CNBC, Common Dreams, Vox, Daily Kos, Reason and Breitbart, more at Mediagazer »

Marina Trahan Martinez / New York Times:
Protests Live: Updates from New York, D.C. and Around the Country

Discussion: The Indian Express, Fox News, Breitbart and Axios

Agence France-Presse: Biden blasts Trump's photo op in front of riot-damaged church

CNN:
Trump threatens military force if violence in states isn't stopped

Discussion: KTVZ-TV, Spectator USA, Washington Post, POLICE Magazine, FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV, Big League Politics, Mother Jones and IJR

Washington Post:
Before Trump vows to end ‘lawlessness,’ federal officers confront protesters outside White House

Discussion: Axios, Gizmodo, FactCheck.org, The Guardian, Just The News, Mediaite, Politico and Vanity Fair

Rose Garden / The White House:
Statement by the President

Discussion: Axios, The Bulwark, Common Dreams, Associated Press and Law & Crime

Alexi McCammond / Axios:
Biden and Trump strike vastly different tones in response to a nation in crisis

Discussion: New York Times, The Hill, Politico, Associated Press, Bring Me The News, CBS News, The Gateway Pundit and Blue Virginia

Ursula Perano / Axios:
“Shaken”: St. John's rector caught up in tear gas deployment at church

Discussion: Slate, The American Independent and Gini Gerbasi

Shia Kapos / Politico:
Illinois governor butts heads with Trump on conference call

Discussion: Washington Post, Breitbart, The Hill and Reason

Nick Boykin / wusa9.com:
Crews put out fire at DC's historic St. John's Church

Discussion: NBC News and Vox

NBC News:

White nationalist group posing as antifa called for violence on twitter — A Twitter account claiming to belong to a national “antifa” organization and pushing violent rhetoric related to ongoing protests has been linked to the white nationalist group Identity Evropa, according to a Twitter spokesperson.

Discussion: Fox News, Althouse and Mother Jones, more at Techmeme »

George Will / Washington Post:

Trump must be removed. So must his congressional enablers. — This unraveling presidency began with the Crybaby-in-Chief banging his spoon on his highchair tray to protest a photograph — a photograph — showing that his inauguration crowd the day before had been smaller than the one four years previous.

Discussion: Mediaite

Courier-Journal:

'My son didn't hurt nobody': David McAtee, Louisville business owner, killed by authorities — LOUISVILLE, Ky. — David McAtee, who turned his talent for food into a popular West End eatery, was shot and killed by law enforcement officers early Monday morning, an incident that's now under state, local and federal investigation.

Discussion: LEO Weekly, 89.3 WFPL News Louisville, Raw Story, Law & Crime, Axios, VICE and Breitbart

Lisa Marie Pane / Associated Press: Death toll grows in national protests

Courier-Journal:
Investigation launched into LMPD, National Guard fatal shooting of West End business owner

Discussion: WYMT, USA Today, WAVE-TV, Daily Mail, Breitbart, The Daily Caller, NPR, CBS News, 89.3 WFPL News Louisville and Vox

Aída Chávez / The Intercept:
Louisville Police Left the Body of David McAtee on the Street for 12 Hours

Discussion: The Daily Beast, indystar, Talking Points Memo and Jacobin

John P. Wise / WKYT-TV:
Louisville mayor fires police chief

Discussion: Raw Story

Justin Baragona / The Daily Beast:

Tucker Carlson Blames Jared Kushner for Trump's Protest Catastrophe — The Fox News host said that Kushner had “subverted” Trump every step of the way during his presidency. — Fox News host Tucker Carlson tore into White House senior adviser and presidential son-in-law Jared Kushner on Monday night …

Discussion: Breitbart, Contemptor, Raw Story and Politico

Matthew Choi / Politico:
Fox News' Tucker Carlson goes after Trump and Kushner over protests

Discussion: Washington Post and UPI

CNN:
Dr. Anthony Fauci hasn't spoken with Trump in two weeks

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA

Laura Hazard Owen / Nieman Lab:

U.S. police have attacked journalists more than 100 times in the past four days — As Black Lives Matter protests spread across the country one week after a white police officer allegedly murdered a black man, George Floyd, it's becoming clear that attacks by police on journalists are becoming …

Discussion: Breitbart

Financial Times: Journalists caught in the crossfire of US protests

Kevin Baron / Defense One:

Trump Finally Gets the War He Wanted — Gen. Milley and Secretary Esper accompanied the president to a photo op — and right into his American war. — President Donald Trump finally got the war he wanted. It isn't in Afghanistan, or Iraq, Syria, or North Korea.

Discussion: Raw Story

Zach Montellaro / Politico:

Mass upheaval and pandemic spell trouble for Tuesday's mega-primary — Holding an election in the middle of a once-in-a-century pandemic is tough. Holding an election as civil unrest sweeps across the country during that pandemic could be seriously problematic.

John Hinderaker / Power Line:

You Can't Loot Us, We're Progressives! — There is nothing good about rioting, looting and burning, but these evils sometimes provide clarifying moments. Such as when progressives realize that the looters are coming for them, too. It shouldn't be a news flash, but progressives …

The Post Millennial: Editor of progressive newspaper celebrated protestors—then they stormed and trashed her office

New York Times:

Black Workers, Already Lagging, Face Big Economic Risks — Black employment rates are plummeting, and the evolving wealth and income hit could fall on the shoulders of those ill-equipped to bear it. — WASHINGTON — The coronavirus recession has hit black Americans particularly hard …

Kenneth Garger / New York Post:

Video shows NYPD cop being attacked by several men in the Bronx — An NYPD officer was attacked by several men in the Bronx Monday night as onlookers recording the struggle instigated the suspects. — The footage, which was tweeted by the city's Sergeant's Benevolent Association …

Discussion: Twitchy, INSIDER and abc7NY

Makena Kelly / The Verge:

Twitter takes action against Rep. Matt Gaetz for glorifying violence — The platform did not remove it — Twitter has restricted a tweet from Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) for violating its policies against glorifying violence, following a similar action taken against President Donald Trump last week.

Discussion: Axios, The Hill, NBC News, Bloomberg, Talking Points Memo, Vanity Fair and Mediaite, more at Techmeme »

New York Times:

Where the Virus Is Growing Most: Countries With ‘Illiberal Populist’ Leaders — Brazil, Russia, Britain and the U.S. have something in common. — The four large countries where coronavirus cases have recently been increasing fastest are Brazil, the United States, Russia and Britain.