To malign and smear -- that's Trump's motto

Dehumanizing insults, lies and rumor-mongering, all wrapped together in one sentence, could suggest the work of a troubled mind. In any case, those elements were on display when President Trump tweeted Friday: “The incompetent Mayor of Washington, D.C., … who’s budget is totally out of control and is constantly coming back to us for ‘handouts’, is now fighting the National Guard, who saved her from great embarrassment over the last number of nights.”

Trump was angry because D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) had the temerity to tell him in writing that she didn’t like the idea of uninvited federal authorities — National Guard soldiers from other states, federal jail guards, border and customs agents, and an assortment of unidentified federal personnel — descending on the city to occupy our streets. They should return home, she said, because the District of Columbia’s police force and their local federal counterparts were capable of handling large demonstrations.

To leave no doubt that the District supported the demonstrators who had gathered at Lafayette Square to protest the grotesque death of George Floyd, Bowser formally renamed 16th Street north of the White House “Black Lives Matter Plaza” and ordered city crews to paint “Black Lives Matter” in giant yellow letters on the pavement.

If it was not quite an “In your face, Donald” gesture, it was enough to get Trump to strike at Bowser with the kind of venomous rant that he reserves for prominent critics, especially women and people of a darker hue.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/06/07/malign-smear-thats-trumps-motto/