Trump’s Rough Patch – The New York Times

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Good morning. Three more police officers are charged in George Floyd’s death. Sweden admits it messed up. And Trump’s former Pentagon chief adds to the president’s problems.

Since President Trump shot to the top of the Republican presidential field five years ago, his critics on both the right and the left have been eager to predict his imminent political demise. So far, of course, those critics have yet to be right.

There is no way to know whether the current moment is different. But it’s becoming clear that Trump is in the midst of one of the worst stretches of his presidency, if not the single worst.

Yesterday afternoon, his former defense secretary, James Mattis — who had avoided criticizing Trump since resigning 17 months ago — issued a stinging condemnation of the Trump administration’s response to the protests. “Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people — does not even pretend to try,” Mattis told The Atlantic. “Instead he tries to divide us.”

Mattis suggested that Trump had made “a mockery of our Constitution” by using the military to break up a peaceful protest so he could stage “a bizarre photo op.” Mattis was echoing criticism from other former military leaders who have also rebuked Trump.

Even two of Trump’s own top military leaders tried to distance themselves from him. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said that active-duty military troops should not be used to quell protests. And Gen. Mark A. Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, reminded commanders that members of the armed forces had sworn an oath to Constitution, which “gives Americans the right to freedom of speech and peaceful assembly.”

Trump has been the target of harsh criticism from political elites before, and it has never shaken his solid support among Republican voters. But Trump does seem to be losing the support, at least temporarily, of swing voters.

Two recent national polls have shown Joe Biden’s lead over Trump surging to about 10 percentage points, up from only two or three points in March, as Nate Cohn, a Times political analyst, has noted. Those polls are of all registered voters, and Trump probably trails by less among likely voters. But a 10-point deficit is not good.

Trump’s recent slide has been serious enough to make his advisers nervous that he could lose some states that he won relatively easily in 2016, like Ohio and Iowa, The Times’s Alexander Burns and Maggie Haberman report. The campaign is spending millions of dollars on advertising in those two states, as well as Arizona. “There is no obvious strategy in terms of message,” said Rob Stutzman, a Republican strategist.

The chaos now roiling the country — a pandemic, a protest movement and the sharpest economic downturn in decades — bears some resemblance to the chaos of 1980, 1968 and 1932. The incumbent president failed to win re-election in each of those years.

There are still almost five months until Election Day. A lot can change in that time. And Trump is a talented politician, with an unusual ability to shape the national debate. Right now, though, he is struggling.

THREE MORE BIG STORIES

1. New charges in George Floyd’s death

Minnesota charged three officers with aiding and abetting murder in the death of George Floyd. The state also upgraded to second-degree murder the charge against Derek Chauvin, who pinned his knee on Floyd’s neck. The tougher charge requires prosecutors to prove Chauvin intended to kill Floyd or that he did so while committing another felony

In other protest developments:

2. A good election for progressives

Five conservative Democrats in the New Mexico state legislature lost primaries on Tuesday, partly because of previous votes to uphold an abortion ban. In Philadelphia, a socialist candidate for the state legislature, Nikil Saval, beat an incumbent Democrat. (The Times recently profiled Saval.)

The wins were notable because the most progressive wing of the Democratic Party has generally struggled to win races in the last few years: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is an exception; not a single competitive House district is represented by a Bernie Sanders-style Democrat.

3. Swedish regrets

The Swedish epidemiologist who has overseen the country’s laissez-faire response to the coronavirus said yesterday that it should have taken more aggressive steps. The epidemiologist, Anders Tegnell, had previously defended the approach — meant to build up “herd immunity,” by encouraging normal behavior — and criticized other countries.

The Guardian reported that Sweden suffered the world’s highest per capita death rate in the week that ended Tuesday, although some other countries still have higher overall death rates.

A view from Gothenburg: “It was a shock at first to see young people sitting in bars, office workers crowding food trucks and hair salons filled with clients,” says my colleague Lara Takenaga, who recently relocated to Sweden from New York. “There are sometimes signs in stores instructing you to keep two meters apart or a lone bottle of hand sanitizer, but no one wears face coverings or gloves. The threat of the virus feels distant — it’s almost like the Before Times.”

Here’s what else is happening

• The former president of the United Auto Workers Union, Gary Jones, pleaded guilty to embezzling union funds to pay for vacations, liquor and other personal luxuries.

• Lives lived: George Lucas called him “one of the founding pillars” of the “Star Wars” franchise. Harrison Ford? Mark Hamill? No, that would be Charles Lippincott, who promoted the original film long before its release in 1977. He has died at 80.

BACK STORY: THE WAY WE HUG NOW

Tara Parker-Pope — the Well columnist — keeps hearing from readers who are anguished about their inability to visit and touch family members. It’s particularly painful for grandparents, who often live alone. “So many of them told me that life on indefinite lockdown, without hugs and time with family, is just not worth living,” Tara says.

“A brief hug, as long as we stay out of each other’s breathing zones, is probably less risky than a long conversation,” she told me. But she added that we should still limit our hugs. As one scientist told her, “I would take the Marie Kondo approach — the hug has to spark joy.”

PLAY, WATCH, EAT, BLEND

A cold, bright way to beat the heat

Last summer, on a trip that now feels very long ago, I went to Barcelona for the first time and was especially excited about one destination: Viena, a stool-and-counter cafe along La Rambla, the famous walking street. It serves what the food writer Mark Bittman has called “the best sandwich I’ve ever had.”

That sandwich — salt-cured ham and tomato on a perfect flauta — lived up to Bittman’s praise. As an added surprise, Viena served a gazpacho unlike any I’d had, bright, fresh and almost orange in color. An old Catalan-language brochure lying around the restaurant listed the ingredients (without amounts): tomato, onion, garlic, red pepper, vinegar, salt and melon. The man behind the counter suggested cantaloupe.

With summer heat descending, I find myself playing around with different ratios. I haven’t yet matched the Viena version, and imagine I never will, but I haven’t gone wrong, either. I also encourage you to try this version, with cucumber, from Julia Moskin.

The only game in town

Tom Wright-Piersanti, a Times editor and sports fan, writes:

It has become my Saturday morning routine: making breakfast for my family, pouring some coffee and turning on the Bundesliga, the first major sports league to return from coronavirus hiatus. I’m not a fan of German soccer, particularly — before this I don’t think I could have named a single player. But that doesn’t matter. Someone, somewhere, is running on a field and kicking a ball.

A story for The Times Magazine explores how the league managed to come back safely — hugs are strictly forbidden during goal celebrations, for example — and how other leagues are watching closely as they plan their own returns.

Celebrate Pride on film

It’s Pride Month. And though the pandemic has made it harder to celebrate, you can still do so from your couch. This list of seven films can help bring some of the spirit of Pride home.

Our pick: “The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson,” a documentary about the trailblazing transgender activist and performer.

Diversions

• In the absence of New York City’s usual roaring traffic, a new urban soundtrack is flourishing: bird song. You can listen to the birds here.

• The televangelist Pat Roberts criticized Trump’s photo op at St. John’s Church this week. Jimmy Fallon said, “You know we live in crazy times when we’re all agreeing with the guy who once said gay people cause hurricanes.”

Games

Here’s today’s Mini Crossword, and a clue: Instrument for Sam in “Casablanca” (five letters).

You can find all of our puzzles here.

Thanks for spending part of your morning with The Times. See you tomorrow. — David

P.S. Thanks to the many readers who sent suggestions for our Twitter list of virus experts. We’ve added several scientists and will continue updating the list.

You can see today’s print front page here.

Today’s episode of “The Daily” is about the protests. And the latest episode of “The Argument” an Opinion podcast, discusses what role violence can play in achieving social change.

The Times is providing free access to much of our coronavirus coverage. Please consider supporting our journalism with a subscription.

Ian Prasad Philbrick and Sanam Yar contributed to The Morning. You can reach the team at [email protected].