Live George Floyd protests: Donald Trump’s former defence chief launches blistering attack on ‘divisive’ president

Donald Trump’s former defence secretary has issued a blistering condemnation of the US president’s handling of the anti-racism protests, claiming “abuse” of power, calling his old boss willingly divisive and mentioning the Nazis. 

James Mattis had kept relatively quiet since quitting the Trump administration in December 2018 in opposition to withdrawal of US troops from Syria but has always said he would break his “duty of silence” if the president’s actions warranted it. 

Mr Mattis gave a 640-word statement to The Atlantic magazine that ranked as the strongest public rebuke of Mr Trump from a former member of his cabinet to date. 

“I have watched this week’s unfolding events, angry and appalled,” Mr Mattis began, setting the tone for a series of extraordinary statements about Mr Trump and the way the demonstrations that have swept the nation have been handled. 

“Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people – does not even pretend to try. Instead he tries to divide us,” Mr Mattis said. 

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